We Are All Performers
by Mischievass
Summary: Taking place shortly after the Avengers, Loki is sentenced. He has lost everything, feels nothing, and his existence is dwindling. On Earth, a SHIELD agent must adapt to a new life caused by an accident in the field. When we fall and we have no one, who is it that we can lean on? Who is it that we can trust during our darkest times? Loki/OC
1. Introduction

_Disclaimer: I do not own marvel nor am I affiliated to them in any way. Marvel holds full rights over their characters. The plot and original characters belong to me._

Light breached the cell before he could begin to gather his senses about him, hands with vice-like grips raising him as his head throbbed on. Was it finally the time? It may as well be. He wished only for everything to be over with, to be finished with whatever it might have been that he had left, if anything at all.

It was almost poetic. The tragic prince once plummeted to the depths, brought back again by the one who insisted upon calling him brother, only to be sentenced to a fate no one could have foreseen. When the allfather had made his ruling short days ago – had it been days? He couldn't tell. The cell was dark and he was too tired to mind anymore – even Thor had been shocked, outraged.

Loki could not get the thunderous shouts, furious, the _pleas_, out of his mind. Even Odin had turned his cheek to the events as they unfolded before him. His golden son making a scene unlike any other, with only the warriors three to thank for regaining control once half the royal guard had become victim to one hammer in particular.

Loki had not said a word. Inwardly he could not tell if he was burning or relieved, or maybe it was utter resignation. Things had just begun to meld together since his arrival on Asgard: the confrontation with Odin, Thor's reaction, catching Sif's gaze and even seeing that she too was affected by the punishment to be laid upon him. Watching Frigga look on in poorly concealed sadness as he was pulled off to that damned cell. Part of him remembered the smile he had mustered for his mother that day.

Or had it been a smirk?

Knowing himself well enough, it was probably the latter.

It's not as though it mattered anyways, since today was the day Loki was to die.

Thunder reverberated through the ground with each passing minute, effectively filling the tight space she was already enclosed in.

Flies landed on the thin sheen of sweat that had surfaced on her skin, matted with grime and stinking of salt and copper as the humid air seemed to become more suffocating with every passing moment. 'Don't move, don't make a sound' he had said before he walked out. He knew what he was doing far better than her and so she had complied. He had left approximately twenty minutes prior without so much as communicating through her earpiece to notify her he was still alive.

_Clint, where are you? _Ciara inched forwards but didn't shift from her kneeling position. A window to her right creaked in response to the winds from outside, but was still hardly audible over the drumming thunder, lightning illuminating the small room as well every couple of seconds. She grit her teeth as a crackling sound – like getting flashbanged – pounded against her eardrums and sent her back onto her ass in shock.

"Ciara," His voice was hardly more than a whisper, static almost making the word too jumbled for her to discern, "you alright?"

She breathed a sigh of relief before responding: "Twenty minutes I've been sitting here getting crapped on by flies. Twenty minutes, asshole." He laughed on the other side.

"I'll take that as a yes. Pretty sure we're clear, I'm just outside. They can't send air recovery in this but a truck should be here in t-minus five."

"Alright. On my way out now."

She wiped her hands on her pants hastily before gripping the rifle, slung across her shoulder by a strap that had dug into the skin of her shoulder. A countertop to the left served as a standing aid while she kicked out her legs to get some feeling back after crouching for so long.

"Take your time. I'll just be out here."

"You're _so_ funny."

Switching the safety of the gun off, she stepped towards the door and shouldered it open, the wind resisting with some difficulty.

"Looks like someone's going to need a shower, huh?" He asked, still speaking through the earpiece. She glanced up and caught sight of him, perched comfortably in a tree between a spot where two branches formed a fork. He waved with the hand currently holding his pistol and even from the ground, she could see the smirk.

"Go eat your crumbs or something. It was fucking hot in the-"

His expression changed in a split second - "_DOWN NOW_!"

In the moment it took for her to react it happened. A fraction of a second too late and she felt the jolt forwards, pressure on the back of her leg followed by a stagger as she dropped, bracing the fall with her palms.

The shot of retort from Clint rang out in the calm between thunderclaps. If there was anything or anyone she could rely on more to take out the assailant than him... Well, there wasn't. She blinked stars from her vision as she raised her head. Clint leapt the distance down from his vantage point and sprinted to her side.

"Hold on, Ciara."

Confusion on her part, accompanied by a: "What?"

Ignoring her, he pressed his fingers to his earpiece and began shouting something inaudible with a sense of urgency.

Before the pain came at least she was able to breathe. As the initial surge of adrenaline died down, a feeling like boiling water began to sprout from her thigh. Then it was a branding iron. Then it was an ice pick that someone had stuck into a fireplace, digging through the skin and burning every single inch of tissue around it within contact. Light-headedness brought on dizziness, and her eyes struggled to focus. She slipped off her knee sideways and bit her lip to keep down the cries the pain was about to elicit.

"Ciara,_ Ciara_ look at me," she followed the voice, "do not move."

_No panic, no shock, stay conscious._

Forcing deep breaths through her nose as he hovered over her, the realisation began to kick in.

_Don't lose it, eyes open. Did the thunder get louder?_

_Not possible. That's just your heart._

_Oh, right._

"No exit wound." He mumbled, brows furrowed in either concern or concentration as he spoke.

She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, with every heartbeat the white heat grew worse.

"Bleeding extremely heavily. They'll be here in less than a minute but I've got to tourniquet it."

The heat surged up and down the limb, each raindrop felt like a needle.

He unzipped the pocket from a bag just below his hip and began to unravel a thick bandage, simultaneously laying it across the wound and beginning to wrap it securely. She dug half-moons into her palms with her nails, and nearly screamed, only able to muffle the sounds with the flesh of her cheek.

"Deep breaths for me Ciara. In and out, try to look at me. Look at my face. Hey, Ciara? Just look. Ten more seconds. I can see the headlights okay?" He paused his speaking to tie off the wrap, looking up and waving his arms in flailing, chaotic moments to draw the attention of the truck approaching. "They're here kid, we're getting out of here. Just hold on."

Rain soaked the two of them and the blur of the headlights grew closer. The once whistling wind was silent compared to the blood rushing in her ears. Past knowledge and experience was all it took for her to realize the bullet had punctured something important. Femoral? Maybe.

If so, was she going to die?

_Do not panic._

_The femoral artery, which passes fairly close to the outer surface of the upper thighs, divides into smaller branches to provide blood to muscles and superficial tissues in the thigh._

_Loss of consciousness in about thirty seconds for the average adult male and death in about three minutes if the bleeding is unrestricted._

Average adult male. Thirty seconds. All at once, the noise disappea-


	2. Shock Comes in Pairs

"Ciara?"

"The meds will hardly be worn off. She may not even be aware of where she is based on what we gave her."

"Can you wiggle your fingers kid?"

Ringing, intruding noises broke through the haze and all at once her senses began returning to her. The familiar beeping of a monitor somewhere nearby – no, several monitors all at once. The piercing fluorescent lighting. The weight of the world on her limbs due to the painkillers they had given her. Most of all the sterile fragrance wafting through the air and bringing her back to all of her past visits to this place.

This place being the infirmary, or the hospital wing as some called it. Ciara tilted her head to glance sidelong at the screen that would display her vitals, but it had been strategically angled so she couldn't see the data.

Something else was out of place. She placed her hands palm down on the bed and began to push herself upwards, only to be scolded by the nurse and told to lie down again. Her gaze drifted over to where Natasha Romanoff was standing at the foot of the bed. Her arms were folded across her chest and she looked stoic, as if she was a student studying the case before her.

Why was she looking at her like that?

"What?" She asked. Well, croaked.

Natasha gave no indication with her eyes or her expression, her calm demeanor emanating solicitude.

"Agent please lay back down," the nurse said as she began sitting up again, "you've just lost a substantial amount of blood and are not to be-"

"Nurse, we can take it from here." A voice spoke from near the door, gruff and whom she recognized to be Clint. "Thank you."

The woman looked between Agent Barton and Ciara as if she were having conflicting thoughts on what orders should or should not be obeyed at this moment. Thankfully she decided against arguing and shook her head, muttering one last 'You shouldn't be moving at all' before she departed.

Clint nodded towards Ciara. His eyes looked sunken but still sharp, calculating. He spoke in a softer tone than he had used with the nurse, "Welcome back to the land of the living," grinning humourlessly before continuing, "I'm so sorry Ciara. This is all on me. I shouldn't have given you the all clear until I was certain-"

"Clint, stop." She leaned back against the bed and the beginnings of a forced smile curved her lips. Her already pale skin had taken on a sort of gray tone, eyes hollow and surrounded by purple and just more… Gray. She didn't feel quite a part of the land of the living nor did she look the part. But still, she was alive and breathing thanks to Clint's actions, and the last thing he should possibly be doing was apologizing.

"You're the reason I'm here right now, okay? Let's just put this behind us. Mission accomplished. Just a little flesh wound, right?" Ciara was aware something was wrong. She was using her words to prod and see what would come forth. Every instinct she had was practically screaming, the sirens blaring in her head.

No doubt Agents Barton and Romanoff already knew this was the case, and they shared a glimpse with one another before Clint spoke up.

"Ciara your leg… The bullet practically severed your femoral artery." Clint frowned deeply and she watched as he raked his mind for the proper words to form whatever it was he was trying to say. Her attention never left his face. She was becoming too uneasy to focus on anything else, the drugs making a scramble of her thoughts. "The bleeding could have been fatal. I thought you were a goner."

_Meeting Clint when he was still a carnie and her family was in the circus business. _

_Befriending him when she was still a child._

_Clint disappearing and then reappearing and recruiting Ciara as a SHIELD agent. She had been an acrobat all her life up until that point._

Now, guard down, his expression said it all. Everything was beginning to come together. The fatigue and the haziness she felt from meds just dissipating enough to allow her back into clear thought.

Nevertheless, she wanted to hear the news from them.

"How long was I out?" Ciara asked quietly. She heard her heart rate pick up, the tones coming from the machinery next to the bed.

Clint looked over to Natasha once before he spoke: "A couple days now. You went into surgery as soon as we got back."

Ciara dipped her head in a nod, the façade in place to keep her expression in check wavering slightly as she considered what he was saying. Gripping the blanket that was draped from her abdomen down, she began to pull it aside.

"We'll give you a few minutes alone." Natasha said as she began towards the door, pausing only to shoot a look at Clint over her shoulder.

Swallowing with difficulty, the archer hesitated to respond at first, looking to Ciara with possibly the most pained expression she had ever seen come from him.

Ciara nodded at him briefly. "It's okay Clint."

A lie.

They all knew it.

His feeling responsible for what happened wasn't making the situation any easier to comprehend. Of course it was a reasonable reaction, seeing as it was in fact _their_ mission. _They _were partners and _they_ were responsible for one another. But she needn't reiterate the fact that his actions had saved her life in the first place.

With a parting nod the agent turned to the door and left along with Natasha.

Alone with her thoughts, Ciara finally pulled the covers aside to reveal what was beneath.

Although it was hard to make out anything under the thick layering of bandages, she could see where the stump stopped approximately. It was one of the higher amputations she had seen in her time. Above the knee, with tubes running out from beneath the gauze to extract residual fluid from the surgery.

Her heart must have doubled pace, throat closing up as a ball expanded in her chest.

Ciara's lips pressed together firmly as she slowly, shakily pulled the blanket back in place, and lay back again.

A thousand thoughts fought for the forefront of her mind. She grinded her teeth together and tried not to make a sound, nostrils flaring with every deepened breath, so deep that feelings of light-headedness began to swim over her. Even still she was on the verge of snapping. Just absolutely rearing back and causing chaos. How could this have happened?! They had been careful. They had been cautious.

Had the attacker been aiming?

Of all the places she could have been hit.

What good was a field agent without a leg?

_I'm alive, but now what?_

Her chest tightened until it felt like a weight had been dropped on it, crushing her respiratory system and finishing off what the bullet could not.

_I need to move. I need to walk. I need to do _something.

_Too bad I can't._

The place where her leg used to be was beginning to throb painfully and she considered calling in a doctor or a nurse to request meds, but immediately ruled that out, since the pain gave her something to focus on as her eyes glossed over with tears.

A wave of nausea came over her and passed within the next few minutes.

After that, another, until she couldn't take being stationary any longer.

Beginning with the stickers on her torso, she began pulling off the cords and clips and whatever else would give way to her hasty tugging. A handful of nurses burst in through the door once she had just managed to get the last of the ridiculous wires off of her.

"Agent Volkov, please calm down!"

White noise.

"Please we're going to have to sedate you if you aren't able to comply."

Natasha edged through the wall of nurses, looking furious. Clint was only a step behind, but so were the security that held both of the agents back while the nurses struggled to get things back in order.

"Her heart rate is too elevated."

"I'm sorry Agent."

The chains clinked together through the spacious corridors, but Loki hardly paid them any mind. The golden walls crept up to a massive vaulted ceiling as he approached the throne which the Allfather occupied. Thor stood to his right, and watching from before the dais Loki viewed the thunder god's position to that of an obedient dog. Only Thor looked like he was doing everything in his power to restrain himself from rushing to Loki and freeing him of his chains.

How touching.

"Loki…" Frigga stood to his right as well, her arm extending forwards from her side more so as a gesture than anything, since there was no possible way he could have taken her hand with the amount of guard he had encircling him.

Loki turned to her and he shook his head. No more sympathy for the God of Mischief. The emotional exhaustion had taken nearly every inch of life he had left.

No more.

He hadn't the capacity for any more.

Odin's voice was without emotion. "Loki Laufeyson, son of the deceased Laufey and heir to the throne of Jotunheimr. Step forwards." Thor flinched, the neutral mask he had put forwards giving way to grit teeth as he withheld his reaction to his father's words.

Loki looked to Thor, back to his father, took a slow step forward.

"For your crimes, including treason, defiance of direct orders from a king, and mass genocide, you have been sentenced to punishment of death. Are there any objections to this ruling?" Loki was forced to his knees, his head bowed.

He had never understood why death was seen as a punishment more severe than imprisonment: the worst of the worst deserved to suffer.

He was born for so much more than this! To die at the feet of the Allfather, with no legacy to leave behind… No throne absent and no people to mourn for him.

If he was capable, he might have shown how much he cared. But his energy was diminished and it would achieve nothing, so why try?

_Because I cannot die now. Not now. Not yet._

_I cannot give them the satisfaction._

Whatever; Thor and Frigga could care in his place. Death would only take an instant, then he would have wars in his mind no longer. Just let things be finished.

A guard stepped up next to Odin and began reading off his final rights, followed up by his crimes. Loki looked up at Odin and his eyes lit up, burned in his skull, the stiffness in his muscles evaporating. The malice seeped outward from him, like a last hurrah of emotion.

_You will die, and it will be at my hand._

Boiling rage threatened to overflow. He dropped his head again and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The metallic taste was sour to his silver tongue as the sounds of footfalls nearing him from the rear grew louder, until he was certain that his executioner had finally arrived.

A muffled sob resounded from where Frigga had been standing, and Loki shut his eyes the moment the sound hit his ears. Why was she crying for him? After all he had done - still planned to do even when he reached Hel – it wasn't possible her grief was meant for him.

_I'm sorry Mother._

His every breath sounded too loud for such an open space. His heart pounded and threatened to break free of his chest, stabbing pain branched out across his slumped form. Was this to be his final moment? Loki would not be able to tell a lie to get out of this. His skill set, his training, his experience, everything boiled down to this and now he was useless.

If only he bothered enough to try.

He heard the rushing sound immediately in his ears as it began. It felt like being stuck in the midst of strong wind, coming from all directions. If Frigga was still crying for him, Loki could not have heard her even if he wanted to.

This was the most favoured form of death sentence among criminals – the soul sceptre, they called it – since it was painless and took less than a minute. Just a single weapon placed at the base of the accused's head, drawing out magic first, then energy, and then finally sucking the last of the life force from the being which it was placed upon. Loki had watched many lives be taken by this form of execution. He could count the seconds down as he felt the familiar tingle of magic be torn from his very soul.

_Everything will be over soon. I don't care. I don't care._

Suddenly Loki was a boy again. He was no longer a god, he was stripped down to the very mortality that every being was prisoner to. Loki was scared, and angry, and relieved, a hurricane of emotions that would not even manifest into tears.

"Loki!" The hammer nearly skimmed the top of his head as it took out the executioner stationed behind him. Thor's voice sounded as if it had come from the other end of a tunnel. He heard the drawing of swords, weapons, Thor shout in his ears as he was brought to his feet and shaken forcefully out of his own train of thought. "You must move brother! We don't have much time!" The dark god was unresponsive, the words not making sense to his ears.

His legs wouldn't function for him, eyes glazed over and searching Thor's face. Was any of this real? This couldn't possibly be happening. Every inch of his body felt sore all at once as he threatened to collapse.

"Sif!" Thor turned over his shoulder, one arm wrapped around Loki to either assure he did not fall to the ground entirely or make a run for it. The latter: ha! That was likely.

"We've got this Thor, go!" Sif replied, fending off a number of guards furnished with weapons and converging on her slowly. She swung the duel-bladed staff like it was nothing, locking eyes with Loki for only a split second. Still that look was enough to convey to him all he needed to know about her motivations; she too cared. This was real.

They had planned this.

But was it too late? The effects of the soul sceptre rendered him absolutely useless. He could almost feel his life teetering on the edge of the world, threatening to dissolve into nothing. Thor had failed.

"Stay with me brother. We are going to safety. I will find help."

Fandral and Volstagg had taken to arms too, clearing a path for the brothers after Thor had broken with his bare hands the chains that constrained Loki.

The thunder god supported all of Loki's weight, with his arm draped across the back of his neck, gripping Mjolnir with the opposite hand and setting aside any who dared to cross their path. In their wake a trail of fallen guards lay.

"Hold on Loki, just keep your eyes focused ahead. Not much longer." Thor donned a look of determination as he felt himself being hoisted up on to horseback the moment that they had cleared the Palace's grand front entrance. The world lilted around him as the steed took off towards the Bifrost.

Asgard's ground shifted to the magnificent array of colours that decorated the rainbow bridge. He was completely leaned against the nape of the horse, every breath coming with the possibility of being his last on this final stretch.

His magic was gone.

All of the energy in his being sucked out, it hardly felt like he could lift a finger against any who opposed him.

Loki realized he was in fact almost dead.

_Why couldn't he just let me die in peace? Isn't that what I want?_

Lifted off the horse again by none other than Thor, his arm thrown around a shoulder, feet dragging without any effort at all to stand as they entered the newly reformed station between worlds. Muffled yelling. More yelling and then pure light and a plethora of colour which he associated with travelling to another realm: but which one would possibly be able to aid this dying God?

If only he could see through his own eyes.


	3. Of Arrivals and Impressions

"I DO NOT CARE IF WE ARE UNWELCOME HERE! THIS IS A HEALING WARD, IS IT NOT?"

The moment her eyes opened she was hit with the force of a freight train right in the face. Crippling pain seized her head and the ceiling blurred as she squinted, turning her face to the side and away from the brightness to get a better look at whatever commotion was moving closer to the room.

"Bring him this way please."

"Get Fury down here, now. We need clearance before we can do anything to help him."

"Yes m'am."

"Right in here."

Two massive figures burst into the room, tailed by multiple others in familiar uniform scrubs. One doctor seemed to be speaking into an earpiece with a troubled expression, either arguing or negotiating with someone on the other end. He didn't look too pleased either way.

"Yes sir. I understand Director. Thank-you sir." The doctor dropped his hand from the earpiece and hastily crossed to the formerly empty other bed, Ciara watching the entire ordeal with intense curiosity. The two who had been leading the group were obscured from view by the curtain that divided the room between her bed and whoever it was that now occupied the other bed.

"Can you help him?" Whoever was speaking, she could have sworn without the disorienting effects of the drugs that putting the voice to a name and face would be easily done.

"For now we're to make sure he's in stable condition. Further than that… We need to be cleared by Director Fury first. I'm sorry."

"No," he stepped back so he was in Ciara's sightline, "no, you have my thanks. Is it alright if I stay?" Inhumanly built, complete with chain-link sleeves and a crimson cape so bright it nearly made her headache worse, the God of Thunder stood a few feet away from her bed. Ciara had seen Thor during New York, and she had glimpsed at his file as well as seen the tape of the New Mexico interrogation Coulson had done. But why he would be back and demanding medical assistance was lost on her. She absently pondered the idea that this was just a hallucination, that maybe she had completely lost her mind along with her leg. If the idea didn't sound so terrifying she may have laughed right there.

"We don't usually allow others inside when working with patients, my apologies. You're free to wait right out there until we're finished though."

Thor nodded solemnly. "Thank-you Doctor." And just like that he turned and walked out, knuckles strained white with tension on the hand he was grasping the hammer with.

Ciara watched the doorway even after he had departed, and other than her brows creasing in confusion, not showing an inch of the puzzlement she felt on the inside. She had been too out of it to make out the person Thor had brought in and with the curtain in place there wasn't a chance of her being able to just simply look over and identify the patient, but it was evident that whoever it happened to be was of high importance to Thor. She distinctly remembered a 'him' from the conversation between the doctors and the God.

All of this new activity was almost enough to distract her from the harsh reality before her. Her hand drifted to her hip, too numb still to feel anything other than the anger that lingered in her mind, tensing her jaw and blocking out the bumbling and dialogue going on between the medical personnel tending to Thor's accomplice. She still could not come to terms with the fact that she, Ciara—grown up in a family of circus performers and very reliant on her physical capabilities in her line of work—was short a limb. She lifted her hands to her head and tried to massage her temples to assuage the pain going on beneath the skin.

"What now?" She said, speaking absolutely and thoroughly to herself. This injury was irrevocable. There were prosthetics, and physical therapy, and support… She couldn't allow Clint to feel bad about this incident. He would have to put up the exact emotional barriers she had been taught to build through the training SHIELD had given her.

Ciara forced herself to harden her features as she thought of what the hell was going to happen. Would Fury stick her behind a desk and some fancy Stark tech computer for the rest of her days?

_No, because this isn't the worst thing that has happened. This will pass._

The monitor warned her to calm down in the form of incessant beeping and she very nearly began ripping cords off left and right again. Although now it wasn't just her heart rate that was being tracked, but the pace of her new neighbour. Twice the frustrating, sleep-depriving, stupid fucking machi-

"Where is he?"

"Director if you would allow me to explain why I brought him here-"

"I did not _ask _for an explanation Thor. We'll be talking later." As his voice grew louder Ciara hid her tightly balled fists beneath the sheets of the hospital bed, eyeing the door silently until he entered, clad in his signature leather coat and looking a good deal more pissed off than usual.

_At least I'm not on the receiving end this time._

An optimistic thought, but also true. Coming from a life full of freedom and chaos to the rigidity of SHIELD life had been a shock to the system for Ciara.

Fury's eye flickered over in her direction, accompanied with a hardly noticeable dip of his head in greeting. She did the same in return.

"Director Fury, sir." One of the doctors walked out from behind the curtain to intercept him and draw his attention away from Ciara.

The taller man crossed his arms, "What can you tell me Doctor? Make it useful, I don't care about the details."

"Well, we don't actually know what's wrong… Per se. No visible injuries. No physical trauma. It's just like his system is only functioning half as well as it should be. Possibly less than that. Heart rate is practically halved, blood pressure is gravely low, respiratory system seems stable enough. His temperature is below freezing but that only coincides with what we had previously from the cell's readings on the helicarrier."

Fury's glare did not shift whatsoever throughout. Ciara on the other hand was beginning to piece together who was on the other side of that curtain, and the nausea was making a comeback in the pit of her abdomen. "Summarize." The Director said.

"It's almost like he's halfway between dead and alive."

"But he is going to live?"

"With proper care and supervision, we believe so."

"Do whatever it is you need to do for now and nothing above that. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir." With that the doctor returned to aid the others with one God of Mischief in particular while Fury too turned to depart, leaving Ciara to her imagination once more, which was never a good thing at all.

The fact that her new (temporary? There was apparently a chance he could die) roommate was currently Thor's brother, Loki, a person whom her opinion of had remained ambiguous throughout the course of his prior visit to Earth, in all honesty. But to sleep, as defenseless as she was, in the same room as him? She could already envision the chaos that might ensue once Loki's presence became known around the ward. Gut instincts told her he wouldn't take lightly to being looked over by humans, let alone stuck in the same room as one.

Judging by the news the doctors had delivered to Fury, if he survived, his stay wouldn't be a short one either. Ciara herself would be fitted with some sort of prosthetic in a matter of a couple more days if things went in her favour, but then it would be many more weeks before she was allowed to do anything remotely similar to the physical activity she was used to. Right now walking was the goal in mind, and that thought _hurt_.

_I am pathetic. I can't even walk._

Ciara reached over for the control pad and hit the button that would summon a nurse to the room so she could request sleeping medication. She could have sworn her foot was hurting for two seconds there, and quite frankly she had no intention of letting the phantom pain get to her mentally.

_I just need to sleep._

Maybe when she woke up, none of this would have happened. This fresh hell would just be a figment of her stupid, stupid imagination.

Beeping and breathing. Beeping and breathing.

He could feel their presence in the air, and even without his magic he knew they were looking at him. Loki did not open his eyes or move just yet, mulling over his options. Before he could come to a decision, receding footsteps signalled that the watchers were gone.

His memory went back to the Bifrost and the time before that, when Thor had gone against any of his expectations - any of _anyone's _expectations - and he had saved Loki's life.

Or maybe he had failed in the saving part and Loki had actually just been stared down by the goddess of Hel and her advisors.

But he could feel that he wasn't alone quite yet. Eyes burned into his side. Loki decided whoever his roommate was, had no plans of making a move, and his words were: "Is there a purpose for your staring?"

"Just waiting to see how long you planned on pretending I'm not here." The voice of a woman came back at him. Definitely a female voice, but a note deeper, and with a rasp that didn't sound well to his ears, "Why are you here?"

Loki emitted a breathless laugh and instantly regretted it as his chest seized up with ever-sharp pain. He coughed abruptly before answering, "I am asking myself that same question."

"Let me know when you figure that out then, I guess." She retorted calmly. Loki had little energy to spend, and whatever mechanism in his mind that governed speech felt too tired for him to come back with a snarky quip.

"Rude one, aren't you?" He answered. Nonetheless his curiosity was piqued and he slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to his dim surroundings. The only light came from the slightly blue-hued rectangles on the ceiling in the hallway and the plethora of portable machinery arranged around them. It must have been night time. Lifting his hand to closer examine the needle currently lodged into the underside of his wrist, he frowned deeply and gave it an experimental tug.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said pointedly.

Loki let his hand fall slack again and shifted his head on the pile of pillows to better look at the source of the voice. When he did a part of him was slightly taken aback by what he took in just from seeing her. She was young. Unnatural, long silver hair (he could tell, there were dark roots growing out - it looked misshapen and dirty), fair skin that looked like almost all the colour had been drained and only fragments had come back so far. She had strong features, a prominent jawline but dark, dramatic eyebrows that forced one to look her in the eyes. The palest shade of blue, but dull and lacking brightness. She wasn't conventionally pretty, but it was difficult to look away from her in the same way that one looked like a clear night sky of stars. Her allure was undoubtable.

Most of all, his eyes were drawn down to where the lump in the sheets ended. Where her left leg should have been the blanket simply dropped and there was empty space on the bed, with a couple of cylindrical pieces running out from beneath.

Inwardly she was thankful he had taken his time to scrutinize her, since it gave her time to do the same for him. His black hair was matted and strands stuck to the pale, marble-like skin. Green eyes lay deep set and had a sort of hungry look to them - unsettling, but then again, the past couple days had been anything but settling. She related their visual exchange to sizing up an opponent before a fight and this thought almost seemed funny, considering the horrible shape both of them were in.

The threat of being killed in her sleep was beginning to look less likely than before and that was a silver lining if there ever was one. This brought Ciara a bit of boldness, and once again she quietly asked: "What are you doing here?"

That caused a change in his blank expression. Loki's jaw tensed and she could nearly see him biting down on his tongue based on the look that came forth just through his eyes, which would have been expressive even if there were no light at all. He spoke: "Was there another with me when I arrived?"

"Thor was here." She kept her answers plain, brief. She knew nothing of his agenda. He was the god of mischief after all, and this could all be a clever ruse. The boldness she had felt moments ago faltered at this thought.

Loki gave himself a moment to absorb his surroundings, the civility with which she spoke but obviously withholding information. Even without his powers, Loki could read her tells like a book. It didn't help her case that there were SHIELD logos plastered to the windows of the room. The fact that the Bifrost had taken them to a SHIELD base couldn't possibly be a coincidence, which meant it had to be a part of Thor's 'rescue' plan. This woman also knew who Thor was and she was currently in the heart of a SHIELD medical facility, so she must have some knowledge on his identity just as well. It puzzled him as to why she had not said anything just yet. Loki could sense it was not out of fear... but what then?

Where was he to go from here? He doubted the infamous Director Fury would be too keen on the prospect of Loki taking up valuable bed space in a building owned by the very organization he had made an enemy out of during his visit.

"You never gave me an answer to my question, you know. Why you're here."

He ignored her momentarily while absently allowing himself to wonder why Thor could not have just let him die. It would certainly be the solution to many problems.

_Is that what I want?_

_I don't know any more._

For the time being, Loki would have to rest and see how much of his strength he could recover, if any at all. Who was to know if the effects of the soul sceptre's power were temporary or completely irreversible? No one had outlived the weapon so far, so knowledge on the subject was minimal to the point that it did not even exist.

"I am here because Thor decided to bring me here," he rotated his head to look at her only partially, so he could just see her out of the corner of his eye, "does that answer satisfy you?" Despite his fatigue (or was it because of his fatigue?) the words came out sounding harsh. Loki felt like he had little control over his emotions, more so than usual given the current situation just beginning to dawn on him, and she could see how quickly his mood was shifting.

Ciara stared at him with her lips pressed together for a second while she deliberated how to respond to him without inciting a reaction she wasn't in the proper position to deal with.

When she did speak, she positively deadpanned, "Just try to keep your head. Being who you are, I doubt anyone will be handing out any second chances around here."

It wasn't quite the reaction he had been expecting to come from her, but the decency she was offering him was refreshing and unfamiliar. So he felt that he could simply offer the same in return. Perhaps he was just so used to dealing with hot-tempered Asgardians, and a number of malevolent beings from the darker parts of the universe. It was plausible he had forgotten all about how calculating and careful Midgardians could be, such as one Natasha Romanoff, whom he would never forget his encounter with on SHIELD's infernal nuisance of an aircraft.

This woman almost inconceivably reminded him of the aforementioned 'Avenger' in her demeanor. In fact the more he considered this, the more he decided just how possible it was that this woman and the other agent knew each other. This woman next to him still had much to work on if she planned on reaching Agent Romanoff's caliber of interrogator, but he could still see the similarities.

_I should be dead._

He no longer had any Asgard to go back to. He doubted his visit would even last very long, seeing as Odin was probably already dispatching his most trusted to come and retrieve the newly powerless god this very second, if he hadn't already. If Loki didn't die first.

_The most Thor would get is a firm scolding and an early bedtime._

"Loki?" He still couldn't orient himself to understand what her play was. Was the civility just for show or was she in the same defeated boat as he? This of course arose the question: How fresh was her injury?

Loki fixated his gaze on hers in acknowledgement of his name.

Ciara continued, "When Thor brought you here you were nearly dead."

He raised his eyebrows, but the rest of him remained unfazed, "Was that meant to be some form of question?"

She shook her head. "Just that no one expected you to make an appearance again after New York."

"How much do you know of my actions?"

"I was there working with a ground team during the fight."

_There it is, so you do know about me._

"So what it is you wish to know then, unless this conversation is completely without point?" He asked.

Yawning largely, Ciara twisted to return to her back and waved a dismissive hand, "Without point I guess." She shut her mouth and rubbed the side of her face with her palm, her headache still droning on. At the least Loki's arrival meant things might get more eventful, more distracting, though likely not enough to draw her mind away from what was going to happen to her in a physical sense.

She hadn't even shut her eyes when he spoke up, his tone of voice having softened considerably "How long ago did that happen?" he gestured downwards with a small shift of his hand "your leg."

"Less than a week." Ciara said, and already felt herself wanting to move off the subject. His false(?) compassion caused the ball in her throat to grow and her mood shifted to the defensive. He seemed to catch onto that—much to her gratitude—and switched topics.

"I assume you have a name?"

For the final time she turned to face him instead of the ceiling, and leaned as much off the edge of the bed as she dared without disturbing the attachments protruding from her at the moment, to extend her arm and say "Ciara Volkov."

_Was that sincerity? I wonder if that is her real name._

He mirrored her movements, but with the much larger wingspan was able to clear the space between them without too much difficulty on his part. Just pain from the muscles he had to utilize to move, "Pleasure."

His hand was just as cold as she had been expecting, and the fact that she appeared to_ smirk_ at him when they shook hands, of all the things she could have done, almost made Loki smile.

Of arrivals and impressions, the two had both made their respective mark on the other.


	4. Comfort in Your Pain

Four days had passed since Loki's arrival, and during that time the curtains around Loki's bed had remained fully encasing, obscuring him completely from view. Part of Ciara wondered if the agency wasn't too pleased with them conversing with one another, and another part could not find the notion to care. But still there was that itch, that irrevocable itch to know more.

It was not that she was without thoughts to occupy her mind, it was that she coped by ridding those thoughts and replacing them with those curious ones which did not cause her anguish. Not physical pain, which had started to manifest as the doctors and team behind her recovery began the work practicing with an artificial limb. It was the kind of pain that happened when a person loses a part of themselves (mind the pun) and does not know when they will ever get it back, or if they ever will.

"Gentle,_ gentle_, _GENTLE_."

"This _IS_ gentle."

The exasperated physiotherapist shook his head, displeased. Movement was a crucial part of the recovery process. Equally crucial was the patience and restraint that had to be practiced during. But Ciara was eager to move forward, and when an inch was given a foot was taken (mind the pun).

"Maybe that's enough for today then."

At these words, Ciara relaxed, wiping the beads of frustration and effort from her face and letting out a breath through clenched teeth.

"Same time tomorrow, before you leave?"

Ciara nodded in response, and the doctor departed with a quick pat on her back of encouragement.

_Thanks._

It was not that she didn't understand the care that had to be taken, it was a very easy concept to wrap her head around. The issue was the stir-crazy physical yearning she felt.

The desire to walk out of the medical ward the next day - the day that she was to be released from inpatient care - not to be wheeled or assisted out. Nonetheless, she made her way back to the wheelchair nearby with the help of the physio assistants and was brought back to her room.

The curtain which separated her from her roommate was still drawn all the way around his bed. Based on the fact that Loki was not yet dead, it almost felt as if he was a problem that SHIELD was just trying to keep hidden from everyone. As if they had put him into a little enclosure in which only doctors and nurses could enter, like zookeepers, to make sure he was still alive and nothing else.

Ciara simply pretended she didn't see a nurse or two smuggle him a book a couple times per day along with his food. Loki had this odd, charming effect on people. And from what she could tell by the frequency of his doctor visits, his condition was very, very quickly improving.

Each day, he woke up to a needle, his wrists cuffed down as a SHIELD medic took blood from his arm and then disappeared without a word.

The first night he fell asleep to the sound of beeping machines.

The second night, he fell asleep to the sound of his neighbour's slumbering breaths.

By the third night, Loki would fall asleep tuned into the sound of his neighbour's beating heart, and by then he knew that his strength was returning. His senses were returning to their previous finely tuned state, the kind of state only a higher being could reach. But with this came apprehension for what could await him once he was well enough to be released from the confines of his curtained cell.

But with this came his overhearing of his neighbour's doctors as they told her she would be released the following day.

Mixed emotions arose at this news. Thor had returned once since he brought Loki to this place, and only briefly. He proclaimed he was deep in meetings with Fury and other SHIELD leaders, no doubt in negotiations regarding what in the hell they were going to do with the war criminal that had appeared right on their doorstep. Loki had not spoken a single word to his brother that day.

So that left her, as Loki believed to be the only remaining individual in the facility who would dare to even speak to him with an ounce of decorum. And now she was to leave and likely he would never see her again. This bothered Loki a great deal more than he anticipated. He attributed these feelings to his damaged mental state and tried to brush it off as the day came to a close, but he could not.

His thoughts wrestled with one another as the lights in the room automatically shut off, signifying that it was time to sleep. Normally he might have held nothing but contempt and hate, but now, after what he had been through, Loki felt… fragile? No, that wouldn't be the right word for it.

_I am insubstantial. Yes, I am meaningless._

These thoughts gave him odd comfort. He had no one and nothing and so nothing more could be taken from him.

Loki had made some amount of peace with his fate and when that was ripped from him he went into a tailspin of uncertainty. The thought that Thor would be his only 'friend' on this wretched planet was one he could not accept. If there was any thought that he could piece together in his conniving mind, no matter how damaged it was - from the soul sceptre, the exile from his home, his family - it was that he needed more allies. His lone wolf mentality was too damaged by his recent failures to survive.

When the lights went out that night, Ciara lay absolutely restless. Her mind wandered among the events of the past weeks, the events of the day, and what tomorrow would hold.

It only wandered so long before he came into her mind, and he stayed there. Despite the briefness of their conversation, he had left a lasting impression. Something along the lines of _how could that possibly be the terror that almost conquered the world and killed or enslaved billions of people? _

Maybe it was the droning boredom and monotony of being confined to the medical ward for so long, but when Loki arrived she felt as if a new door had been opened. She was drawn to his quiet demeanor, the way he handled himself, the weird, weird comfort that they had shared in their mutual pain.

Ciara used her arms to push herself up into a seated position and one at a time lifted her legs with the support of her hands, so that she was facing the curtains that surrounded his bed.

Curiosity did kill the cat, but she was not a cat.

She leaned forward over the edge of the bed until the ball of her foot touched the ground, using that to support herself as she reached forward and slowly drew back the curtain until he was in her view. And he was also very much awake.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" Loki spoke quietly, his bed at an angle halfway between laying down and seated. He turned his head to look at her as he finished speaking, a nonchalant expression on his face. He had no restraints on his arms, not necessary due to the high-level security of the facility itself, yet he remained perfectly still.

"I can draw it back if you'd like." Ciara replied, using the back of her bed to ease back down onto its edge, and sit facing him.

The corners of his mouth curled into a small smile, "Would you like that?"

"You sound like you're feeling better."

"So you woke me up to check on my wellbeing?"

Ciara tilted her head, brows creased, countered: "You weren't sleeping."

"And neither were you."

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I can't sleep."

Loki thought on his response. His immediate thought was _And why should I care? _But he did care, and the question as to why he should had bothered him all day.

Instead he came back with "Your friends have good reason to isolate me."

Isolation, something Loki had become used to. Good at, and something that he learned to find joy in, even. Perhaps it was the way isolation landed him here that made the concept of it so… intimidating at this moment.

Ciara chose not to further into the topic, "What is your plan when you're healthy again?"

Loki's eyes sharpened, but he whispered "A good magician never reveals his secrets."

"So you're saying you have a plan then?"

"I do not think those are the words I used."

"You alluded to it."

"Just as you are alluding to being interested in what I might be planning."

Ciara shrugged, "It's my job."

"So what you are saying is that this is strictly a business conversation?"

She faltered, parting her lips to speak and then quickly sealing them into a firm line. He had her on that one and they both knew it. Ciara had been detached from the heart rate monitor days ago, but Loki could hear her heart rate speed up. His gaze bore into hers as each one of them tried to read the other, calculating.

She finally spoke up "Would you be speaking to me if you thought this was strictly business?"

That seemed to stir him. Without hesitation, Loki sat up, and turned so that his legs dangled off the bed, and the two faced each other directly. There wasn't so much as a hint of stiffness in his body, leading him to think that the soul sceptre maybe hadn't done as much physical damage as previously thought. That the condition he arrived in was a combination of the horrible treatment he had received in the days leading up to the execution day, and the soul sceptre's power. His physical self felt good now. Now there was just the issue of his mind. That felt irreparable.

There was an obvious shift in the way that Ciara held herself then, a stiffening of her jaw and neck when she saw the ease with which he moved. She had not yet realized how big he was either, their bed only feet apart and his seated self both much wider and taller, even in the Asgardian prison-like clothing he donned.

"Maybe. But I do not want to talk strictly business." He said, then added "I want to talk about you."

This made her even more uncomfortable, but she repressed it before it could show. Why should she feel so uncomfortable anyways? Ciara knew not the extent of his abilities, but he hadn't shown any malice towards her yet. Testing the waters, she replied "What about me do you want to know?"

"You know where I am from, but I haven't a clue about you. Where do you come from?"

Ciara swallowed and then nodded "That's fair. My father is Russian - I was born there, as were my brothers - but my mother is from Ireland. They moved to America with me when I was young."

"Why would they do that?"

"They were performers, and this is where the most money is for performing."

"Logical. Did you perform as well?"

Ciara gestured around the room "I was an acrobat, before this."

"An acrobat?"

"Flips and stuff."

Loki nodded, his expression soft, as if he were trying to understand without looking confused, "And what brought you into this?"

At this she ran a hand through her hair, leaning into her palm and planning the words correctly before she would say them: "My mother had an accident during a performance, my father left the performing scene. I was recruited shortly after."

Loki could sense there were parts missing from the story, and he was intrigued, distracted from his own mind by this girl in front of him. She was smart with her words and he could appreciate that, but he was not done.

Slowly, so slowly he put weight into his feet and rose to stand, towering just feet from her. He gestured to the edge of her bed closer to the foot of it, as if in question.

_You know who this is and what he's done. You know this. You shouldn't allow this. He won't hurt you but Fury sure as hell will._

Ciara nodded, and Loki slowly stepped forwards, out from the edge of the curtain and into the open space between the beds.

_You're an idiot._

Surely there were cameras in the hallways. But in the rooms? There had to be.

Loki turned to sit on the bed, slowly, leaving a solid foot or two in between them. He did not aim to push, but he also did. He was expecting the alarm to be sounded any minute, he was alone, he would probably be found out by Odin's people within days or weeks, or SHIELD would decide upon a worse fate for him… So what did it matter?

"Why SHIELD?" Ciara thought she could hear a twinge of judgment in his tone, but she quickly dismissed it.

"A close performer friend of mine. He heard of my situation, and he sought me out."

Without hesitation, Loki replied "Agent Barton, am I correct?"

This took her by surprise, and Ciara's gaze quickly darted to his. Her leg ached and her pulse throbbed quickly and she immediately recalled what could have possibly possessed him to know and present that information to her so outwardly.

Loki caught on to her shock without missing a beat, "I had access to Agent Barton's mind for a period of time, if you will recall."

He had to be playing a game with her. She had fallen right into this trap he had laid for her, due to her own weakness, and now she was vulnerable. And no alarms had sounded. Loki was directly in front of her, so close she could feel his cold breath and it smelled of nothing.

Ciara took a deep breath, looking at him so intently that she felt as if she couldn't possible look away, "Why ask me questions about what you already know?" Her tone was accusing, and it was not subtle.

"The rest I did not know," He was calm, collected, unfazed by her distress "but I am glad to have gotten to know you better."

Suddenly, boots rushing down the hallway. Four pairs of them, maybe more, and seconds later the room was flooded with people, Thor at the forefront.

"Loki, step away." The thunder god's tone was stern and the men at his flank were armed and ready. Neither Ciara nor Loki had looked away from one another, as if it were a game they were both playing. A stupid childish game of who will blink first.

"Goodnight, Ciara. It was a pleasure." Loki spoke in that still gentle tone, as if he were genuine. Then he turned to the audience, promptly stood off the bed, and was immediately grasped firmly by Thor.

And the moment Loki was pulled from the room and marched down the hallway, Ciara was alone again, her pain returned, the indescribable comfort she had felt - gone.


	5. A Gift

**Wow! Chapter 5, holy f, this is moving. This is my first fanfiction and I can't believe how much fun it's been to write so far! I appreciate any and all reviews, and I genuinely hope someone can get as much enjoyment out of this as I do. (:**

"What in the FUCK was that, Agent? You think playing buddy buddy with Loki is all fine and great until he stabs you in the _fucking back_. Suspended. Until further notice."

Fury's voice must have carried four rooms over. Ciara did not flinch throughout, she completely expected it. Never mind the conversation she'd had with Loki just hours ago still reverberating in her brain, as if it were rattling her very skull.

"Are we understood?" His eye was wide, the crinkles in his forehead ever-evident as Romanoff and Barton looked on, slightly off to the side to stay out of Fury's line.

"Yes sir." Ciara confirmed, stilling her mind and giving him the response he was looking for. It was all she could do not to wince as the trenchcoat stormed out of the room.

"Fury is right, Ciara." Natasha said, sitting on the bed next to Ciara, just as Loki had done the night before. "That was dangerous."

Clint stood motionless, silent. Ciara wondered if he had viewed the video or listened in on what had gone down last night, and her heart felt like it retreated down into her stomach. A brick, meeting the pit of fire and adrenaline that had burned there since the night before.

"I was never in any danger." Ciara said back, holding steadfast. Was that a convincing point or a statement point?

"You don't know that. No one knew that." Clint finally spoke up, "No one has any idea how they work - the Asgardians. You went in blind." Ciara could see the anger pooling, and she kept silent, giving a slow nod in response.

Quick to change the subject, Natasha went on "We pulled some strings," she glanced over at Clint, silent again, then back to Ciara "Tony is here with something for you."

When no one said anything, Natasha looked at Clint, "Can you go get him?"

Clint said nothing, just turned heel and walked out, a final glance shot towards Ciara on his way out.

Last night had been one of the oddest things that Ciara had ever experienced. She remembered reading Loki's character profile days after he appeared at the SHIELD base and disappeared with the tesseract.

_Unstable, aggressive, violent. Use of deadly force authorized._

Ciara had seen none of that in the man that she had held a conversation with the previous night. He had seemed genuine, he had listened to her and been (or seemed to be) interested, and had returned those same emotions, not giving more but not practicing hostility where hostility need not be.

His large stature had not made her feel afraid, his demeanor not made her feel threatened. She was not naive enough to place her absolute trust into the man, but he had not done anything to show intentions of betraying what trust she did put in him.

But the way that he had pulled out that information on Barton and her's history, as if he had known all along. And how much did he know? When Ciara met Clint she was a child, sixteen, and eight years later they had shared history. How much access did Loki have into Clint's mind after all?

"Agent Volkov." It was Tony's voice that broke her train of thought this time, kind and warm and a welcome change from the coldness that she had experienced so far. Even despite the fact that she knew she deserved it.

"Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure." Ciara replied, giving a little wave as he stepped into the room, agents flanking him with a large cart, some kind of metallic box situated across the top.

"No need for the Mr. Stark, I heard you're getting out today from these two," he gestured to Natasha and Clint "so I brought you a little something."

"Oh, shit, wow, thank you." Ciara smiled and used her hands to help ease her foot onto the ground, testing the pressure of her weight before she looked at Natasha "Do you mind giving me a ha-"

"No need! Stay seated." Tony cut her off quickly and then rolled the cart forward so it was right next to her bedside. "It's just a prototype, but I think it'll make do for now." He leaned over the box, working over it until a satisfying click caused the top to pop open.

"Oh my god." Ciara's hands flew to her face as soon as the contents were revealed, subsequently causing her to lose balance. Clint flew over to her aid quickly, muttering something along the lines of "Please don't fuck up the other leg too."

Inside the box was what looked like, in plain sight, a metallic leg. The cordage and metal intertwined to make the calf and knee look almost like there were nerves winding through the glossy gunmetal-looking material that comprised most of it. Tony lifted it out of the case with ease as Clint helped Ciara back up until she was seated on the bed.

"Well, should we try it out?" Natasha smiled, looking to Ciara, who immediately nodded and offered a quick "Yes_ please_."

Tony grinned and pulled a remote from a depression in the case, holding it out towards Ciara and directing her fingers to one of only three buttons on it. He then held out a second piece, a slightly rounded piece of metal lightweight and thinner than a pancake.

"Silver gets it on, black gets it off, white is a surprise. Stick this on the end of your leg and watch the magic happen." He then stepped back and crossed his arms, still grinning "Have at it kid."

It was the first time in days that Loki did not occupy a spot in her mind. Not even a suspension from duty could bring her down as she gently pressed the metal pancake onto the amputation point, watching it mould as if it knew exactly where it belonged.

It was nothing compared to the subsequent action the silver button caused. The leg itself detached piece by piece, and as if drawn by a slow motion magnet, slowly, softly began rebuilding itself on her leg. When the process was complete, her hands went immediately back to her face. The parts of the prosthetic had wrapped up until they essentially reached all the way up to her hip, beneath her shorts, not cold but comfortable and… secure.

"Well? We're waiting Agent. Give us a stand." Tony said, the eagerness in his voice as he watched Ciara start applying pressure to the leg to test it out palpable.

_I'm standing._

_I am standing._

_On two legs._

Ciara couldn't repress it. The heat came and her eyes glossed over, tears welling up as she took a step. The leg and foot moved so dynamically, effortlessly, like it knew her intentions and carried them out seamlessly. It was a split second later before Ciara had Tony in a hug, her actions occurring before she could begin to think about them. She didn't know Tony, Tony did not know her, but the gift he had brought her meant the world. Even towards the back wall of the room Barton couldn't help but conceal a smile behind the hand he too had brought up to his face as he watched.

"Okay, ouch." Tony argued, giving Ciara an awkward pat on the back, her cue to step off.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Thank you so much Mr. Stark-"

"-Tony"

"Right I'm sorry. Thank you, thank you, you have no idea-"

"Hey, it's all good. This is a team thing. You should thank these two, you have some pretty great company here." Tony said to Ciara, still smiling. "I gotta go meet Thor, meetings and such. You three have fun and _please_ no more mortal injuries for at least a little while. Okay? Okay." With that he departed, leaving Ciara with her gift.

Loki couldn't decipher his location based on the turns they had taken and the distance they had gone. Not even his senses were sharp enough to remember where Thor and the shield agents had shuddled him off to the night before.

Based on a quick survey, it looked like a normal, modern apartment. But Loki was not oblivious to the amount of security the place certainly had built into it. There was not a window in sight, and he sat up from the couch that he had been left to crash on. Blacks and navies and simple decor made the room very boring.

Ah, but the night before. He had made more progress with Agent Volkov than he could have hoped to up until this point. Loki hadn't known when he made contact with the agent that she would prove to be such willing, pleasant company. She had treated him like an acquaintance, albeit with some reserve in her approach - of course - but with respect like he hadn't experienced in years. Not even from his own family. Respect that he knew he did not deserve but he would seep up with every chance he got.

Her eyes, the way they had taken over his vision like they had all the answers that he needed at the moment. The way she allowed herself to react so humanly to the revelation that he knew somewhat who she was. It was refreshing, that was, to not be treated as an animal. Loki had no agenda in mind when she had pulled back the curtain, but his muddled mind was now beginning to put something together. Loki was beginning to feel more like himself with each passing day and the power surged through his veins like a drug.

His physical strength felt rejuvenated, but now ripped from his only seeming ally he felt lost again in his approach to his situation. The ups and downs of his emotions were still off course and felt beyond repair. But she had given him hope, and he would seek it out again.

"Brother." Thor appeared through a hallway to his left, dressed in Midgardian clothing as if he belonged there all along. "I have business to attend to. You will be staying here until further notice."

Loki noted the coldness with which Thor spoke, the darkness under his eyes from a sleepless night. He wasn't sure how to react to Thor being there, so he looked at him until the words came to him.

"Why did you do it?"

Thor seemed taken aback by Loki's words, a frown plastering itself across his face "Because you are my brother, and an Odinson does not give up on his family."

"Your father did not seem to share the same sentiment." Loki stood then, not moving towards Thor but waiting.

"Father does not see how I see."

"And how is that?" Loki asks, now stepping closer "How do you see me, _brother_?" He spat the words out as if an insult, the pain seeping from his voice as he clenched his jaw.

"I see that you can care about others. I've seen it my whole life," Thor stepped towards a pair of sliding doors, on the wall opposite Loki, "And I saw it last night." Nodding to himself, he let out a dry laugh, then shaking his head "And so did you."

Natasha escorted Ciara out of the medical ward, down three elevators, until they finally reached the ground floor. After the events with Loki, it was decided that she would be moved far away from the base, lest the God of Mischief get loose and somehow return there.

The leg did not have a learning curve. It moved when Ciara moved, it did not irritate, it did not cause pain, but the initial joy she had felt initially was beginning to wear off as reality seeped in.

The agency was furious with her. And for what? If anyone was in danger, it was herself and only herself, and how valuable could she be to Fury anyways if he tossed her aside like she were expendable the moment she toed in the wrong direction.

Gliding out the main doors, Ciara turned to Natasha as they approached the vehicle that would take Ciara… Wherever SHIELD had decided to put her during her suspension. Likely a safe house within the city, while she recovered and the politics of the whole situation were worked out.

"Where is Loki?"

Natasha looked sharply to the side at Ciara, taken aback by the words.

"It's no longer any of your concern. It never was."

Ciara stopped on the passenger side, looking at Nat with frustration "It is my concern."

"And why is that, Ciara?"

"Because I can figure out what his next move is."

"His next move is being contained by SHIELD in a safe location while we figure the rest of this shit out. A safe location where he cannot murder anyone." With that, Natasha stepped into the vehicle and Ciara followed suit.

"I became a part of this situation when he became my roommate. Suspension from official duty or not, I am as much a part of this agency and the Asgardian affairs as you are." Ciara snapped.

"You're not thinking clearly Ciara. End of conversation, and I mean it."

The safe house Ciara was placed in was actually an apartment, in the dead centre of Long Beach, New York. It seemed appropriate. She would be close enough to the action at the SHIELD main base in Manhattan that her suspension could be lifted and she could be brought in if an emergency were to occur, but still just far enough away from the action.

Left alone with her thoughts, the day coming to a close after the drive, she found some comfort in the silence with the help of alcohol.

Her eyes had just barely shut before he appeared in her vision, clad in the armour she recalled from the invasion of Manhattan. He spoke, softly as he had in the room:

_I assume you have a name?_

_Your friends have good reason to isolate me_

_But I do not want to talk strictly business, I want to talk about you_

It was vivid but not nightmarish. What she did by engaging him was not a strategic move, it wasn't doing her SHIELD agent duty, it was about being a person with a desire to know more about another person. But referring to him as a person felt so alien, after all that he had done. And how could she just overlook all of it? A war criminal, a mass murderer, nothing but a poison. A poisonous alien with an aptitude for speaking and working through others' thoughts, emotions, saying just the right word at just the right mark.

Or the man that carried with him this air of confidence that she saw right through, an opaque facade to some but as transparent as glass to her. Maybe to Thor as well, as it was evident just how much the thunder god cared for his brother. Thor was smart too, a good judge of character, brave, kind. He would not care so much for Loki if he did not see something in him too.

Ciara had to rid herself of these thoughts. They would bring her nothing but trouble in the future and she absolutely knew it.

But Loki's appearance was the gift that kept on giving, and she could not shake his image from her mind with all of the effort in the world. His hungry eyes, sorrowful and then joyous and then twisted, as if emotions moved through him as freely as water.

The sun would rise early the next morning as the summer solstice had come, daylight glaring through curtains not shut. Glaring and pooling directly on Ciara's face, waking her not-so-softly, not unlike fluorescents. After 2 weeks in the medical ward, it felt strangely familiar to wake up this way.

The hangover, however did not feel as familiar, and the sun rays felt like golden knives.

"Uuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhh" She rolled in the bed, still made, still clothed, her hair tangled and the textured duvet design leaving patterned indents on her face.

Thankfully the prosthetic had been taken off immediately when she arrived, and the metal piece remained on her leg, but not as thankfully, Ciara found herself slipping off the bedside and hopping in a game of balance to the remote a couple metres away.

She hit the silver button with more tenacity than she had produced in weeks, and within an instant the metal had reassembled itself on her. Standing, as her head throbbed to the rhythm of her heartbeat, she made her way into the shower to wash away the first night in the safe house with absolution.

In the shower her brain began to start working, and she glanced down at her leg. The healing that had already occurred was miraculous, she was just starting to realize. The last several days had been so eventful that the thought had not even dawned on Ciara that her leg was where it should be months from then, but already. A visit with a SHIELD doctor would be in order soon. More pressing topics converged on her, like the whereabouts of the God of Mischief.

They would not have killed him, nor returned him to Odin for punishment. Thor would never allow it, and Ciara had no doubt in her mind he was heavily involved in the decision process.

They certainly moved him to some kind of containment, certainly alone, knowing of his deceitful ways and the ways in which he drew people to him.

Is that what he had done to her? Manipulated her somehow, with mind games, with magic? Ciara had no idea how that theory worked, but nothing was beyond belief at this point in the game.

On the other end, the consideration was there that it was she who lured him towards her. Loki fell from grace so harshly and abruptly, his heroes and superiors having cast him aside until he had no one but Thor. What if the trickster god just reached his breaking point, and sought out any others who would spare him some decency?

Ciara decided these were better thoughts for later, possible after a nap, and finished up the shower on a mission to get coffee.

The kitchen was well stocked and she was feeling better by the minute. A clear head made for good planning, and she decided it was time to plan her next move.


	6. Trust Is Not Mutually Exclusive

**********Here's the M rating warning! Don't read if you're not up for some smut. Writing one of these kinds of scenes is also a first for me, so enjoy!**

Loki was trapped in the room for several days, he figured. Without access to the outside world by any means, his internal clock went haywire, and sleep marooned him.

If this was some sort of tactic that SHIELD had employed he couldn't possibly come up with the reason for it. Thor returned intermittently but with no regularity and the two never shared words.

All of this time with no interaction left him with hours and hours of contemplation. No soul on the earth would possibly aid him when he was at this lowest point, except maybe for one. And he had zero clue as to where Ciara was.

Occasionally it was fantasizing of taking revenge on all those who wronged him that made him feel more of himself. But this didn't bring with it the same satisfaction it had previously, because he could not see an end to the punishment this time.

It was as though the world was dropping acid on him, burning him again and again. It made him angry and pained but he was paralyzed. Held still by feelings of abandonment, a red hot temper, and anguish. How had he allowed himself to reach this point?

Loki shook his head as if it would cause the snowballing thoughts to fall away.

"Brother?" Thor's voice, concern evident in his tone.

The trickster god stilled. While his mind ran awry his physical grew in anticipation. He could feel the presence of his magic as it had begun to come back. He wondered how much it would take in order for him to escape this place.

"Loki, we are leaving."

At this Loki turned to face Thor, steeling himself "Where are we going?"

"You know that I cannot tell you that."

"Then I will not come with you."

"I need you to trust me."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because if you do not, you may very well never leave this plant again."

This caught Loki off guard. He swallowed, frowned, looked to Thor for any sign of a lie, and he could detect nothing. So he nodded in agreement, and followed his brother into the double doors that opened on the back wall.

The two rode down the flights and flights in silence. When only a couple floors remained, Thor turned to his brother "You will keep your head down and follow me."

Loki did not bother to retort as he could pick up on the seriousness in Thor's tone. It reminded him of Frigga, the way she used to scold them when they would fight.

_You practice to be able to defend Asgard, __**not**__ to kill one another!_

When they stepped out the double doors, the lobby swarmed with Midgardians. Suits who all seemed to have a place to be and a watch that may as well have just read "LATE". The bustle of the crowd was tedious to get through, but Thor was an easy target to follow. His mind told him to slip away, to run, but his instincts said go forward, trust Thor.

"Down here."

When they finally broke free from the building and hit the streets, Thor grabbed Loki by the arm and pulled him down one of the alleyway-wind tunnels that populated Manhattan. All the while the sun nearly blinded Loki, after so long without even seeing a glimpse of it. He could hardly even recognize the city that he had tried to destroy not long ago.

And then he saw her.

This was the biggest risk of Ciara's career, and she was doing it for reasons she herself couldn't discern from the mess her thoughts had become.

Days of planning. Endless nights late spent on the phone perusing the night, in person meetings in assorted bars with stenches that lingered long after one left.

She had gotten a hold of Thor, the morning after her first night at the safehouse. She felt a pit of guilt widening in her chest every time she spoke to the thunder god in secret, but it was the only way that she could make it happen.

He told her as much as he dared reveal in relation to the meetings and arrangements regarding how SHIELD planned to take care of the threat of Loki. How they had begun rapid construction of a specialized kind of prison, heavily guarded, secretive, and deemed absolutely inescapable. He would live out his sentence there, which had yet to be decided. It would likely be more years than the sentencers had left in their lives, what with Loki being immortal.

So Ciara and Thor devised a plan, and she bought a bus ticket to Manhattan with a pseudonym on the day that the plan would take place.

She coordinated her outfit in a way that the prosthetic would be unnoticeable: sweatpants, and a large t-shirt. Her shape was obscured, and it was perfect. In these times, It was difficult to feel like she was doing an important thing.

Ciara did, nevertheless, blend in with every hipster in the city.

The bus had been a breeze, and she was off to the rally point. Her gait with the prosthetic was flawless, the wound having completely healed - a detail that she had put off being assessed by a doctor just yet for.

Two more sharp turns down streets that all looked similar in every respect, and she was in the final stretch.

And then she saw them.

Ciara walked towards them with ease and Loki looked on in surprise and confusion until she got closer. He began to hear the faintest whirring of the metal joints as they moved, nothing that a human would ever pick up on, but he knew that sound. He had heard that sound in the movements of a certain Iron Man. No doubt through her SHIELD connections she had been able to get into contact with Stark.

As she drew nearer he saw the colour had returned to her skin completely, her hair was whipped by the wind and astray. Her eyes the most faded, light blue but still with that dead, shocking appearance. Her gaze was filled with the most intent he had seen in ages. Not pretty, but beautiful, and stunning.

When they reached each other in the midst of the alley Ciara first looked to Thor and then to Loki. The dark-haired prince was in fresh clothing, earth style, his hair pulled back into a knot, his skin even paler than she remembered. He took in her and she took in him for a moment.

"Have you told him what's happening?" Ciara turned to Thor, asked.

"Nothing of the sort."

Loki looked between them as they exchanged a hug, as if they had been friends for years. His expression must have shown his confusion, he did not even bother to hide it.

"Thank you, Lady Ciara." Thor tipped his head to her, "I will not forget this."

She smiled very lightly and nodded back to him, "You owe me nothing." She then turned to Loki, still trying to put together whatever pieces fell into place that landed him in this situation, "Let's go."

He did not even protest this time. If Ciara was working on SHIELD orders then this would certainly be his end, but if she was not-  
"This is us." She pointed to a small grey civic, a nice enough car that the tinted windows did not stand out sorely at all.

When they got inside, Loki turned to her, "What are you doing?"

Ciara looked to him briefly, and was served that same pondering, searching regard that he had eyed her with so many nights ago. Like he couldn't decide what to do in the moment.

"SHIELD invalidated my ability to make a judgment call, so I am invalidating theirs."

Loki narrowed his eyes, "More strict business then."

Ciara turned her attention to the road, and the car took off, "I don't do strictly business."

"Then why do you continue to lie to me? I believe you are in the business of lies."

Ciara took a deep breath. Loki could hear her heart racing, feel the tension seeping off of her, as her exterior self remained the trained, impassive operative while her inner workings rose war. "Instinct." She said, biting her lips as she took turn after turn through the labyrinth city.

It almost felt as if they were going in spirals until they reached their destination. Ciara looked at him, "Can I trust you right now?"

Loki could feel his own adrenaline rushing, his returned magic made him feel strong, and the sun gave him the energy he had lacked for days.

He could take off.

He could kill the girl, end her life and be done with this. Just get rid of her and go on from there.

Or he could trust her, so that she could trust him.

"Lead the way." Loki replied.

She didn't hesitate, and the two of them departed the vehicle, him following her towards the steps of a small house, nearly identical to the row of homes it was attached to. Ciara veered away from the steps that rose upwards and instead began down a small set of stairs that must have led to the bottom unit.

She keyed in a code on a pinpad to the left of the barred door, the modern tech appearing out of place against the red brick that formed an arch over the entrance.

A small green light lit on the handle of the door, small enough that when it was not on it was not discernible to prying eyes. The two of them quickly moved inside, Ciara stepping to shut the door behind him, an audible array of clicks ringing out as more than one lock fell back into place.

Inside the unit was dark and it smelled strongly of dust, as if uninhabited for weeks. She threw down a backpack in her possession and turned to view him.

"This is where we will be staying."

Loki raised his brows "We?"

"SHIELD will figure out very quickly I'm not where I should be, and neither are you. They have eyes everywhere."

The sacrifice she was making for his safety was absurd. It didn't make sense to him that she would risk her career with the agency for him. Not after they had just met. Unless she was looking for something out of this, "And to what do I owe you for this?" He asked, pressing for answers.

"Don't strangle me while I sleep?" Ciara joked, but her tone was humourless. She still carried with her an aura of unease that was easily perceptible by Loki, whom which had built much of his life on his ability to pick others apart. "Your room is down the hallway," she pointed down along the dimly lit room, then flicked on a switch on the wall nearby so that the carpeted passage was more illuminated "last door on the left."

_What is your plan here?_

Loki looked to her one last time for any other bit of information she might be willing to offer, and when it was not presented, he continued to press "What is your plan with all of this, Agent?"

"Ciara," she corrected, brandishing a device from her pocket and potentially sending off a message of some sort, maybe to Thor "we wait out the storm here while your brother keeps in contact with SHIELD."

Loki was less worried about SHIELD than he was about the Allfather, not knowing what kind of extents the old king would go to, to see that his sentence was carried out.

"Thank-you, Ciara."

She pursed her lips, then nodded, "Don't mention it." More withholding of information. She barely even looked at him as she moved around the unit, switching on lights and checking cupboards and a fridge to see what supplies they had to work with.

"What will you do after this?" Loki continued, taking a slow step in her direction, "Surely there will be consequences, if there is an after." He closed the distance between them more, seeking out her attention as their eyes locked.

Ciara looked to him, like cornered prey, her expression sober but focused on the trickster god standing just steps from her now "A good agent never reveals her secrets." Her tone was cold, but he could see, hear, and feel the tough guise she was putting forth wavering. It felt as though they were back in their shared hospital room, Loki testing the waters to see how she would react before he gained ground, and then more ground.

"I don't think you have a plan for after this, Ciara." He cocked his head slightly to the left. "Tell me if I am wrong." He stood a full head higher than her and now looked down at her, but the girl held her ground.

She knew she couldn't successfully lie to him, it was a futile effort and with each piece of dishonesty Loki would grow frustrated.

Ciara rallied herself and closed the distance between them until she could feel that cold breath as he looked down on her, "_This_ is the plan right now." They were as close as could be, and she fought back shudders that threatened to cause her to flinch. Something about him at that moment was unsettling, but she felt sanguine, like deep reds had invaded her and emboldened her against the danger inches from her face.

His character didn't change, cool and collected, and he did not respond either. How dare this girl stand toe to toe with him, but also how endearing, compelling, that she would do so.

Loki admired her courage but her standoffish attitude did not sit well with him.

Without a moment of pause, he placed his hands on either side of her face, long wiry fingers just brushing the nape of her neck and the back of her head. Whereas his skin was usually cold to the touch, his hands felt warm this time. Ciara felt subdued, her lips having parted slightly as she stood in shock and disorientation.

"Tell me to stop." The trickster god murmured, his gaze having shifted to her lips, pale but plump and enticing.

Ciara shook her head with the smallest movement. Loki could feel the blood rushing through his hands on her face and neck, and it served to tempt him more.

He whispered this time, their faces fingerbreadths apart. "Tell me to stop and I will."

She did not respond, but lifted herself to close the distance, raising her hands to grasp his sides lightly as their lips met.

Loki was gentle, not intruding but allowing her to control the pace, her tongue meeting his as the kiss deepened and his grip tightened and then loosened on her face and the nape of her neck.

His hands travelled gently down her sides until they hooked under the hem of her shirt and slowly, deliberately lifted. The two broke for a moment so he could pull it over her head, baring her torso open to him as they reignited the kiss, a small sound escaping Ciara's throat when his hands pressed warmly along her back.

This baited him further, and it only took seconds until she had unbuttoned and removed his shirt while their lips remained in contact. Loki took this as permission to go farther. He grasped her by the hips, scooping her up until her legs found their way wrapped around his waist. His hands supported her backside as he walked with her in his arms towards the kitchen counter behind her.

When he placed her on the surface her legs relaxed, his fingers on one hand shifted up to entwine in her hair while the other travelled to her back to release her bra.

"Off" he grumbled, and she reached back to unclasp the garment.

Loki's hands moved down to Ciara's hips, snaking under the waistband and sliding off the baggy trousers without disturbing her seat on the counter. The prosthetic was cold to the touch, reaching nearly all the way to her hip and engulfing the remainder of her leg in smooth metal.

"Now you." She whispered, incessantly tugging at his waistband with her thumbs as he traversed her neck and throat, her decolletage.

Glad to oblige, he returned to her lips and unbuckled the belt and pants, allowing them to drop along with his undergarments and then kicking them off onto the floor behind him.

Neither of them had not realized the want of more until then, embracing and caressing lustfully as her chest pressed into his. Her body was hot and smooth, athletic and strong in his hands, his body warm and hard, muscular and angular under her every touch.

"Slowly." Loki uttered the word against her ear as her anticipation grew and her movements became less controlled, almost frantic. Her breaths came out in short bursts of air as he swiftly ripped the final piece of clothing right out from underneath her - she didn't even feel it - leaving her as completely exposed as he.

Loki lifted her from the counter, him resting against her stomach as she let out a small moan at the feel of him, hands tangled deep in his dark tresses of hair.

He was rapid but smooth in his movements as he carried her down the hallway and to the final door on the left. The only feature he paid attention to was the bed, laying her down gently so that he could see all of her.

Ciara's hair sprawled out on the covers, so silver-white against the black duvet, her body moving slightly with every breath as Loki took the moment to admire the physique before him. With hungry eyes he descended, positioning himself over her as they locked eyes. He sought out any doubt as he positioned himself with one hand.

"Yes." Ciara spoke on cue, permitting him to do that which he desired, which she desired.

With slow movement he edged himself inside of her, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as her head fell back and he filled her completely.

He pulled back and thrust forward in circular, smooth motions, eliciting moans from Ciara that were nothing but music to his ears. She encircled him completely, her hips open to allow him full access as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, kissing and letting out small groans as the fire in the pit of his stomach threatened to burst.

Ciara was blissful, edging closer and closer to finish, unable to return the affection he covered her with by way of his lips.

The burst of release felt like hot inferno, but pure pleasure from head to toe as she shuddered and tightened her grip on his back.

At this Loki too could no longer hold it, and his body trembled as he buried himself in her with a groan, the smell of lust and sweat emanating from their entangled bodies.

No sound filled the air but breath as he slid off and freed her from his grasp. It must have been minutes before one of them spoke up, both basking in the sensations that engulfed them.

"Fuck." Ciara spoke on an out breath, and she turned her head to the side to meet Loki's gaze. He rolled over onto his side to face her, slowly leaning in to press a soft kiss to swollen lips, no doubt from the light biting and sucking that had ensued during their embrace.

"Not satisfied, Agent?" He pressed, the corners of his mouth tilting upwards in a small smirk. He looked smug.

"Good fuck." She replied, rolling her eyes and then swinging her legs to the side of the bed to stand up. "I'm going to take a shower."

Loki nodded, "Okay."

Ciara blinked a couple times at him, then turned to enter the ensuite bathroom. She paused once she entered and turned to look at him, her body glistening and her eyes filled with the most life he had seen from them since their introduction.

As if to make a show of it, she spun back around on her heel and turned on the water, leaving the door open in invitation.

Loki looked on with a grin, then stood up and headed towards the open door.


	7. The Experiment

It was midday when Ciara and Loki had arrived at the new location, and as evening rolled in they made their way to the living room/kitchen area of the small unit.

Walking down the hallway, Ciara had wore pajama shorts and a hoodie, the sense of ease that she now felt sharing a residence with the God of Mischief having subsided greatly. It was time to relax and settle in, and see where the past couple hours of events left them.

Loki's eyes bore a hole in her back as they moved to the entrance room. He could sense that her unrest had been mitigated. It was clear in the way that she did not wait for him to walk first down the hallway, the way she did not watch him like a hawk any longer but with only gentle caution, right down to the clothes that she wore, which revealed her leg and the prosthetic that allowed her to move so freely. She was right to let some guard down: if he wanted to kill or harm her, he would have already done it.

Intimacy was barely a large deal on Asgard, and Thor and him as princes had spent their fair share of time with many women, especially in their younger years.

But sleeping with the supposed (ex?)enemy was a first for Loki, and it had been he who initiated it. He knew Ciara was too smart to believe that because he desired her enough to make the move, it put her in some kind of false position of power over him. If anything, Loki felt more powerful, more of a player in the game now.

Ciara crossed his path without a glance, gripping a clear glass bottle and a single, short little glass as she settled down onto the couch and cracked open the booze.

This was interesting. It could also almost certainly make for good conversation. Loki retrieved a glass from one of the kitchen cabinets and joined Ciara on the couch, respecting her space and leaving a sizable gap between them. Unspeaking, he lifted the bottle and poured himself a generous glass of the clear liquid as well. It smelled similar to the medical ward they had met in; sterile.

"Vodka," Ciara said, tipping her head to the bottle, "Asgardians drink a lot, don't they?"

"That is correct." Loki took a considerate sip, and the clear liquid coated his mouth and throat, leaving only a small burning in its wake.

"Natasha got me on it." Ciara smirked a bit at the way Loki eyed the liquid in the glass before he took another, more tentative sip. "I'm not a huge fan either."

"Why choose to drink it then?"

"The same reason a lot of people do. They like the way it makes them feel."

Lokie nodded, took another sip. "How has your leg been healing?" Where the small talk may have bored him to tears usually, he found himself growing more serene with time, and he also found that he enjoyed the sound of her voice.

"It's healed."

"I didn't realize Midgardians healed so quickly."

Ciara shrugged and poured herself another glass. "They don't."

"May I look?"

At this she stiffened and contemplated, then set the glass down and retrieved the remote from the pocket of her sweatshirt. She thumbed the black button and watched the prosthetic unravel.

"A Stark invention?" Loki quipped.

She snorted a bit and nodded, "How could you tell?"

Lok set his glass down and slid along the couch, closer to her, "Lucky guess."

The amputation point had a metal piece formed to it, which he gently peeled off. He was careful to monitor Ciara for any signs that he might be causing her discomfort, but none showed.

Loki knew how delicate Midgardians were, and when he unwrapped the thin elastic bandaging that covered her skin it was shock and awe that he felt.

"It's completely healed."

"I told you it was." Ciara grabbed her glass and took another swig. "You know what I think it is?" She raised her eyebrows and smiled a little, the booze providing the buzz that she had craved all day.

Loki noted her change in expression and replied, "What?"

"Magic." She grabbed the elastic wrapping and reapplied it along with the metal piece, then hit the silver button that reassembled the leg. Loki, meanwhile, sat in silence, thinking.

He himself couldn't come up with a better explanation, nor a less ridiculous one. But Loki was in the practice of magic. He knew of its existence and its ability to turn reality upside down and make the impossible happen. He could feel the possibilities coursing through him that very moment.

"Have you shown anyone else this?"

Ciara shook her head, "Who would you suggest I show it to?"

She was correct, and he knew it was a doomed question the moment he had asked it. Ciara could not seek out medical attention, lest she be found by the agency, and then what? The progress of their relationship (whatever it was) had made leaps and bounds, and that would surely halt its development.

"What will you do in regards to supplies?" Loki waved around the room, feeling warm, his cares becoming less apparent, "food, clothes… Liquor."

"I have a system in place." She held her glass close to her chest and leaned against him, so that her head rested against his shoulder, and Loki froze. Ciara continued, "Maybe no more shop talk for tonight?"

He could not figure out what to do in the moment. The weight of her head on his shoulder was foreign but comfortable, and it could certainly be attributed in large part to the vodka, but still…

"No more shop talk for tonight." He agreed, resting a hand on her thigh. His skin had once again grown cold to the touch, but it didn't seem to bother her.

"What does Asgard look like?" She asked, sipping. He felt her hair on his neck and it tickled, the scent of lavender wafting up from it.

He thought carefully.

"Like a mountain made of gold, surrounded by a city made for the gods."

"That was poetic."

"Thank-you."

"Do you miss it?"

"Do I miss what?"

"Asgard."

Perhaps she could not tell she had stepped on a nerve. Asgard had not been home to Loki for years, not since his true heritage was revealed to him. But did he miss it?

"I do not."

"I think you're lying." Ciara sat up and turned to face Loki.

He couldn't help but smirk, finishing off the last of his glass and placing it down on the coffee table. "And what makes you think I'm lying?"

"I can just tell."

Loki narrowed his eyes, then spoke.

"Alright. Tell me again if I am lying." He leaned forward, and even with a belly of vodka his cold breath smelled of nothing.

Ciara was properly buzzed at this point, and she leaned back a little bit out of instinct.

"I've thought about killing you since I met you."

"Truth." Ciara answered promptly, unfazed. "My turn. I've thought about killing you since that same night."

"Lie." Loki said, smug. Ciara took a sip before he spoke again, "I've wanted to sleep with you since the final night in the hospital."

Ciara grinned, "True."

She was good. Loki had no tells, no nervous quirks that aided in telling apart his lies from his truths. But she felt it in her bones when he lied to her, as if something in her was compensating for the intoxication.

"Last one." She said, then placed her glass down and looked at him with concentration, "Your actions in New York weren't just _your_ actions."

Loki looked taken aback, "That's an assumption."

"But am I lying?"

Ciara saw the anger bubble up, the hurt, but she was slow to react, "You don't have to answer that."

_But you kind of do._

Loki steeled his expression. His rational mind said that Ciara was drunk and did not mean to dig up the sensitive subject. But rationalizing while intoxicated was hard, and his blood boiled. "Lie. My actions were mine alone."

_A lie. You're lying Loki._

This conclusion came to her immediately, effortlessly. Ciara had never been the best at discerning truth from lies, even her ability to lie flawlessly was a never-ending practice. But the certainty with which she separated each lie from the truth with him was immaculate.

Loki bit his lip and bowed his head, like the couch cushion would offer him some support and calm. "I think I am done with this game." His temper had always been short, but the anger that he felt faded into listlessness as he remembered the hell he had endured under the control of Thanos.

The villainous creature had taken the broken and beaten Loki and tortured him, invaded his mind, his will.

Ciara shifted towards him in her seat and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his bowed head resting on her own shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She was being earnest, a moment of sobriety and realization of the painful memories she might have just brought to the forefront. "You should get some sleep." She said softly as he leaned his weight further against her. He was heavy, but manageable.

He nodded into her shoulder, and they returned to the bedroom together.

"Ciara, you have to wake up."

The unfamiliar feeling of a hand gently shaking her shoulder as she came to was alarming, even more so when she went to react and the hand moved to cover her mouth.

"I need you to not make a sound." Loki whispered with urgency. "Someone is here."

Her eyes went wide, and Loki removed the hand from her mouth slowly.

"How do you know?" She breathed.

"I heard the locks on the door."

"How did you-" Ciara paused, "-fuck." She slowly pulled back the covers and slid out of the bed, looking at Loki and mouthing "_Move_".

He did that, just as the faint sound of the door shutting made both their heads turn sharply towards the hallway. Blinding light erupted through the doorway, followed closely by barking orders and shouts.

"On the ground! Get on the ground, now!"

Ciara could not see a single thing on the other side of the lights, and the familiarity of the voice sent a chill down her spine. SHIELD had found them.

The patience of the intruders ran out, and she felt the burning sensation of shock running through her body as a stun gun was fired. She should have dropped, but her limbs continued to work. She charged towards the lights as another course of electricity ran through her, this time strong enough to bring her to her knees, ripping the air from her lungs and turning her nerves to acid.

Still Ciara's limbs worked, but just barely. She had just gained her feet again when a third shock passed through her, and she crumpled.

"Hill, targets acquired." The voice was solemn, not celebratory. The lights dimmed and Ciara could see again, but movement would not happen. Her limbs throbbed and her equilibrium spun until she found the capability to turn to the side and wretch violently.

In doing this she was able to catch glimpses of the number of people in the unit. A flood of SHIELD security officers, NYPD, and Natasha and Clint.

They were knelt over her, shining another bright, yet infinitely smaller light into each of Ciara's eyes. Their voices sounded like they were shouting at her while she was wearing earplugs. She felt warmth in her left ear, and a metallic taste coated her mouth.

_Where is Loki?_

If they had put her in this state, they might have just killed him.

Ciara began searching side to side. She tried to sit up, but her stomach felt like it was ready to empty more of its contents and she collapsed back down.

Frenzied, shaky breaths came from her lips and she finally caught sight of him. Loki must have put up a much better fight than her. He was clad in black and green Asgardian armour, no doubt conjured by him, evidence of his magical abilities. Restraints held his arms behind his back and his head hung limply, blood dripping from his lips.

"_No_.. no, _no,_" Ciara protested when he disappeared from her view and she was hoisted up between Natasha and Clint, both of them supporting her weight almost completely from either side.

They carried her all the way up to an ambulance where an agency trauma team awaited.

"Fuck, kid." Ciara heard Clint murmur the words under his breath, and despite all the commotion it was crystal clear to her ears.

He sat to one of the seats on her right as the medics went to work. They strapped her down and took vitals.

"She's stable, recovering quickly."

Ciara felt her pace finally slow, her breathing become less laborious. She began taking deeper breaths as she slowly looked around the inside of the ambulance.

When her eyes locked on Clint and Natasha, solemnly watching from beside her, she swallowed and spoke with a painful rasp.

"Where?"

Clint had his elbows resting on his knees, stooped forward.

"Where are we going?" She elaborated.

"Here's a question for you." Clint's tone was angry, stern, "Why? Why in the fuck did you do it?"

"What do you think I did?" Ciara answered, which made him snap.

Clint threw a fist against the ambulance bench and shot to his feet.

"You know exactly what you did, Ciara. No - you know exactly what you didn't do." He was shouting, "You didn't follow orders." He leaned over, pointing an accusing finger at her and lowering the volume of his voice. "And you let him get to you."

The medics looked down at their laps, not daring to intervene. Natasha watched silently, her expression devoid of emotion. What did she think of the events that had transpired?

"You don't understand." Ciara replied, her jaw clenched.

Clint glared at her and took a long breath through his nose, "There is nothing to understand."

She shook her head, "I trust him." When Natasha heard these words, her attention shot directly to Ciara, who added, "I'll vouch for him."

"He's messing with your mind. You're not thinking straight." Clint countered.

"You're wrong." Her hands made fists to her sides, the straps that held her arms down feeling more restrictive by the second. The pain of her injuries had started to make an appearance, the initial surge of adrenaline dissipating. Her left ear throbbed and it felt like she was underwater based on the pressure.

The vehicle jerked to a stop, and the back doors flung open. Ciara lifted her head to look over her feet at what was outside, but all she could see was night and a couple more agents come to assist. Maria Hill was among them.

"Fury is waiting inside." Maria said, not to Ciara but to Barton and Romanoff. Then she addressed the medics, "Can she walk?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then she's walking." Hill turned heel and walked away while the medics clambered over Ciara, unbuckling the restraints.

She sat up on the stretcher and waited for a wave of dizziness to stop, feeling disoriented but considerably more able bodied than even minutes ago.

"Hands." One of the medics said, holding a pair of cuffs. Ciara obliged and offered her arms, not looking as they locked into place, but squinting as a group in black encircled something and rushed off out of sight.

_Where are they taking you?_

She watched until they disappeared entirely and the medics helped her to her feet, off the ambulance step and onto the ground.

The blood had stopped gushing from her nose and now just left crimson lines running down her chin and onto her clothes. Her head pounded but walking was manageable. Natasha and Clint walked to her rear anyways, lest she falter - or maybe attempt to run.

Ciara recognized the building. SHIELD's main New York headquarters, a presumptuous dark grey building with the agency logo nowhere in sight. They walked through the double doors and directly to the elevator on the far side of the lobby.

Ciara stumbled as soon as they began heading up, and the medics to her right and left steadied her for the remainder of the ride. When the doors did open, she surveyed the scene in front of her. A long hallway lined with doors, but not a person in sight.

"In here." Natasha said.

They guided her right in through one of the doors, and it looked to be a board room. Fury sat on the furthest corner of the table and did not turn to face them. The medical personnel took their leave and shut the door behind them.

"Normal reparations for this would be expulsion." Fury's voice rang out, and he brought himself to his feet so that he could turn towards them, "But seeing as we do not yet know the extent of Loki's influence, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt Agent."

"Respectfully, sir." Ciara answered, "I acted completely of my own accord."

Fury looked to Natasha and Clint, and then waved his hand, "Leave us." The two nodded and took one last look at Ciara before they departed.

"This isn't just about consequences to your actions." Fury turned to the wall of windows behind him. "You're a very recent investment to us."

"I'm not sure I completely understand sir." Ciara had been with SHIELD for years, not particularly recent.

"So you haven't noticed?" The calmness in his tone was unsettling. She had expected to be berated with shouts and anger, not this.

"Noticed, sir?"

"When you returned from your op with Agent Barton, we were given a choice. Take the chance and potentially lose an Agent, or make an opportunity of the situation."

Ciara stood still, her brows knit close together as she tried to figure out what he was getting at.

"You were injected with an experimental update of the serum created by Dr. Erskine and used on Captain Rogers. A well kept secret, and years in the making. Medical personnel had cleared you as a solid candidate and there was no time to make waste of." Fury turned to face her, "And it worked. We've been monitoring your healing, vitals, body mass, metabolism, everything. And it's what we used to track you down when you disappeared."

She searched his face for any kind of bluff, a futile effort. Fury was second to none at every skill related to espionage and his expression was completely stoic.

When she didn't respond, he continued, "You might have noticed sharper senses as well." He stepped in her direction, now frowning, "Agent Volkov you're an investment, and an asset."

Ciara felt stable on her feet but she walked over to the board table and leaned against the edge, processing.

"Barton will escort you to your room." Fury pulled a small fob from his pocket and released the cuffs on her hands. Ciara rubbed her wrists and stared blankly at the wall in front of her.

"Think long and hard Volkov. You won't get a third chance." Fury said sternly, then proceeded to the door and left. Instants later Barton moved into the room.  
Ciara didn't move, "Did you know?" She asked.

Clint still appeared sullen, but he answered her, "I did."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"There couldn't be a risk of the results being distorted."

"By my knowing?"

"How you would react was uncertain, so it was the safest option."

"To lie to me?" She looked to him accusedly.

Clint was unmoving, "There seems to be a lot of that going around, doesn't there?"

Ciara's lips pressed into a firm line as she bit down.

"If you'll follow me, please." He spoke coldly, then turned heel and walked out.

Ciara paused before she followed him. Her limbs felt heavy but she gathered her bearings and stepped out into the hallway, into the elevator after him. They went down several levels, remaining silent for the entirety.

The floor that they walked out on was clearly some kind of barrack level. Each room they passed was outfitted simply and almost akin to a prison cell, just cleaner and with the addition of a shower and some storage. Clint stopped at a doorway and gestured inside.

"This is you." He said.

Without looking to him Ciara entered the room and gave it a quick once over.

"Ciara." She heeded him at the sound of her name, "You have people here who care about you."

Ciara nodded, "And there are people here that I care about." She spoke callously, pointedly. True, there were many people here that she viewed like family, but they both knew who she was referring to. He had to be here - this was the most secure place in the city.

"Your security clearance is all access." Clint replied, "Use your best judgment with that information." And with that, he left.


	8. Don't Show Emotion

Sleep did not come for Ciara when Barton left her. It must have been early morning, after she showered and then lay in bed for hours with a reeling mind.

It was unfair, that finally her and the God of Mischief had developed a sense of ease around one another - they had finally started to figure each other out - that their worlds were thrown into even more chaos. But fairness in life was a myth anyways.

The room itself was pitch black and devoid of a window. It contained in it a shower, a full length mirror, a desk/dresser with a chair, a single bed, and a digital clock on the wall that read _4:48 _in dim green characters_. _The lock on the door was operated with a personal ID badge that had been left on the desk.

Clint had said she possessed full security clearance, and she immediately saw it as a test. Where would she go? What would she occupy her time with? Fury had mentioned nothing in regards to her suspension from duty being lifted, so she safely assumed that it was still active. Ciara wondered what their expectations were of her. Whether they predicted she would go straight to Loki or hold off and bide her time. She guessed that her conversation with Fury was meant to be a deterrent from seeking out the trickster god, or at least not immediately. A deterrent in the sense that now with this new information that the agency had invested one of their most precious secret weapons in her, she would be back on the straight path.

Far from the truth.

Ciara had taken a liking to Loki, a real one. Whereas before it had just been a curious interest. She wasn't sure when things had changed in this way, but it was fair to presume it happened during their time in the basement unit.

The issue arose then, when she began to wonder if he felt the same way. It was a thought that, among others, she would likely share with no one. She would also have to make contact with Thor again soon to assure that his involvement in the plan had not cost him his freedom too. Maybe he would have some insight to offer regarding what Loki might be thinking.

_Loki._

It was clear-cut to her that she would have to figure some other means to reaching him, not just seeking him out within the facility. Nearly every doorway required passage with an ID tag and if somehow she could evade the security cameras (next to, if not impossible), the logs on the door locks would give her away.

Then there was the thought that maybe he _had _gotten to her head and this was all an elaborate scheme meant to end with his freedom. Everyone else save for Thor seemed to believe this to be true. If this was possible, she also chose not to believe it.

_Time for a walk._

Her decision-making abilities were sharper when she was able to move.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood carefully, just in case the night's occurrences had any lingering physical pain. She was pleased to discover this was not the case, save for some mild but incessant ringing in the ear that had been bleeding.

The dresser was stocked with unisex clothes in varying sizes, all either a shade of blue, black, or dark grey. Simple athletic t-shirts and pants. Ciara slid on black, form-fitting pants, and a grey short sleeve shirt. The prosthetic looked only slightly odd underneath the material when she regarded herself in the mirror, and her hair was still damp from the shower. She threw it back in a quick braid and used her ID tag to let herself out of the room.

The hallway was dead silent, the very beginning of morning light visible through the few windows she passed by. The floor was filled with doorways identical to her own and she wondered how many of them were actually inhabited.

Each door Ciara had to pass required an ID tag, one of the largest reasons the headquarters were so secure. Along with around-the-clock surveillance it was essentially impossible to get around without a tag. Even the floor options on the elevator had varying levels of security clearance required to be able to reach them, and none of the lift buttons were labelled. This made it so only those that were familiar with the layout of the facility would be able to navigate the floors easily and accurately.

Thankfully after eight years with the agency, she knew her way around like she knew the back of her hand. It was almost undeniable that Loki was being held on one of the lower levels, some of which reached so far into the foundation of the building that an elevator ride down took minutes.

In actuality, Ciara could probably locate him with relative ease - that is, if he had not already been transported somewhere else. This was doubtful. It would render the test of trust that she had been handed must less effective.

The elevator hummed into action as she selected the level that housed the food hall.

When the doors opened she could already see people moving around the tables in the open, cafeteria-like room that took up most of the floor. Most of them were dressed in standard issue uniforms, but a couple wore clothing similar to hers. All eyes were heavy with sleep and the smell of coffee populated the air.

As she filled up a mug for herself, a voice spoke from behind her.  
"Trouble sleeping?" It was Natasha.

"Just a bit."

"If you drop by medical they could probably give you something for that."

"Yeah, maybe." Ciara sipped from her mug and shrugged. She had no intentions of returning to medical in the near future. Natasha walked up to the counter and poured herself a mug.

"I guess Fury told you everything then."

Ciara tensed. She knew that Natasha would have already known about the serum, just like Clint, but it hurt to hear. "Everything isn't the word I would use for it."

"And why is that?"

"Just a hunch."

Natasha glanced sidelong at Ciara, stirring the sugar she had just put in her coffee, and then spoke, "You do know we're on the same team here."

"I'm pretty sure my player status has been revoked."

"You wouldn't be allowed free roam if that were the case."

_No, that is exactly why I have free roam. So you can see what I use the privilege for. _

The moment the serum was administered to Ciara she became almost invaluable. She didn't hold the status of someone like Barton or Romanoff, but as both a very important science experiment and potential weapon for their use, she was highly useful to SHIELD. All that was left for them to do was cut her ties with Loki. To make sure her loyalies were where they should be.

"Fury didn't lift the suspension." Ciara replied.

"He probably just wants to give you a little time to recuperate." Natasha turned and leaned against the counter, mug in hand, "But then again, I won't pretend to know what he's thinking. That's uncharted territory."

It was hard to discern whether Natasha was treating her so normally because it just came normally, or if it was a ploy. Ciara knew some of her mistrust must just be due to paranoia, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the treatment she was being given was unusually casual, all things considered. It was kind of infuriating.

"There's a meeting happening later."

Ciara turned her attention to Natasha, who continued.

"You have a seat in it if you're feeling up to it."

"What's it in regards to?"

Natasha turned her head so they faced one another, "Is that a question that you need answered?"

The two women looked at each other for a moment, then Ciara answered, "I'll be there."

"I'll have someone sent to collect you." Natasha turned to walk away, then added, "Try not to stray too far."

The cell that they had placed him in was concrete on three of the walls, with the fourth made of glass that was opaque on the inside but he assumed to be transparent on the outside. Even the door was made of the material.

Something that looked like a very low shelf jutted out of one of the concrete walls. Loki's boots almost stretched beyond its length when he laid down. Still clad in his armour, he began to stir, his eyes slowly opening as he came to.

He remembered what had happened hours ago with vivid clarity. It had taken three shocks to take down Ciara when she charged the intruders, and him just a few more, along with a couple widows' bites from a certain Agent. In the moment it had felt like his insides were made of fire and the iron taste that was left in his dry mouth was sharp. But it was her convulsing body as the electricity ran through her that replayed in his memory, over and over.

The image disturbed him to great extent.

He wondered where they had taken her. Maybe unbeknownst to him she was in the cell next to him, assuming there was one. Highly doubtful.

Just then the glass door opened, and in stepped a familiar face.

"Agent Barton." Loki sat up and regarded his guest. "Long time no see."

"What's your play, Loki?" Clint had his arms crossed.

"I beg your pardon?

"Why are you here?"

"I seem to remember that being your doing."

"Cut the shit."

Loki held up his hands, "Assuming you've been in contact with Thor, you know more than I do."

Clint did know more. Thor had filled them in thoroughly the same day that the two Asgardians had arrived.

"You didn't answer my question." The agent was unmoving.

"You've read me wrong. I have no 'play'." Loki answered, and he was being honest, "I was brought here not of my own accord." Clint's lips parted to answer, but Loki cut him off, "and before you ask, it was she who came to me."

"Because you fucked with her." Clint's tone was accusing, the resentment evident in his tone.

_You have no idea._

Loki almost smirked at the thought, but suppressed it.

"I've done nothing of the sort."

Barton had been victim to Loki's control, so of course he was partial to the belief that Ciara had met the same fate. His anger and accusation was not unfounded by any means.

But that had occurred only because he had been in possession of the sceptre. Loki's magic was strong, but controlling the will of another person was not a trick that could be learned nor taught - it simply did not exist.

"Lying isn't going to get you out of this one."

"But Agent, there is no lie." Loki was earnest, "You're trained to know the difference - so look at me, and tell me if I am lying."

"I'm of the opinion that nothing you say can be believed."

Loki leaned back against the wall, and shook his head, "Then what is the purpose of this conversation?"

"You saw her in my head. You targeted her."

"I did not know Ciara's identity until she herself revealed it to me." Loki tipped his head back so it too rested against the wall, "Willingly."

"Let me guess, I'm supposed to take your word for that too?"

"You can ask her yourself."

Clint ground his teeth together, "So she can corroborate your fake story for you?"

Loki took a deep, long inhale through his nose, exhaling loudly.

"Have you ever considered that maybe her actions were of her own free will?" When Clint did not reply immediately, Loki leaned forward, stood up but did not take any steps, "or does it pain you too deeply to even consider that to be a possibility? One of your dear friends, taking a liking to a _monster_." Then he stepped, slowly, hostility in his voice and in his approach, "does it frighten you, Barton, the truth?"

Clint smiled and shook his head, looking down to the floor, "You can live out your little fantasy however you like." The smile dissipated, "but you will never see her, speak to her, you will never be near her, you will never touch her. Because we take care of our own here, a custom that I'm sure you're unfamiliar with."

Loki snorted and a small smile broke out, "Funny of you to think I haven't touched her."

Loki was toying with him, and Clint would not let it have the desired effect.

"I'll give Thor your best." Clint turned and gave three knocks on the glass door, disappearing from view as it shut behind him.

When someone finally came to retrieve her, it was mid-afternoon and Ciara was in her room. She had acquired a laptop from the tech centre and had spent most of the day browsing the internet to occupy her time until the meeting.

A couple knocks on the door pulled her attention away from the computer. She shut it firmly and exited out into the hallway, where an agent stood waiting.

"Agent Volkov?"

"Yes." She presented her ID tag.

"Please come with me."

They walked to the elevator together, the agent waving his own tag and pressing the button that would take them back up to the floor with the board room she had met with Fury in.

They departed the elevator and walked up to the door adjacent to that very room.

"Thanks."

The agent nodded in reply and walked back down the hallway while Ciara took a deep breath, and entered the room.

It was identical to the other. The table was most of the length of the room, in its dead centre. The daylight that came through the massive windows did not illuminate the room like it should, as though there were some kind of darkening filter on the glass.

Nearly every seat to the table was occupied, and Ciara took a couple of seconds to put names to the faces as all eyes turned to her.

Fury, Natasha, Tony, Bruce, Steve, Clint, Hill, Thor, and four others she did not recognize. Thor's presence brought her some relief, as she had decided it to be too risky to try to contact him earlier, but now she knew his hand in their operation was still a secret. He dipped his head ever so slightly when he caught her gaze.

No one spoke as she took the only free seat, between Steve and Tony. Tony gave her shoulder a small pat.

"Good to see you kid." He whispered, along with a small smile. She returned it, grateful for the bit of comfort.

"Now that everyone is present," Fury said, looking around the room, "we all know why we're here."

Ciara saw Clint looking at her in her periphery, and she returned his stare. The moment their eyes met, he turned away.

"There is a threat, and we're going to deal with it." Fury looked to Ciara, "For those of you who are new, we have recently been informed that a small number of Asgardians have made their presence known in the city."

She saw Thor's massive torso rise and fall as he took a deep breath, eyes glued to the table.

"Thor has informed us that they are highly aggressive, and that we are in possession of something they want." Fury tapped a finger on the table, "Floor is open for discussion."

_Something. Asgardians. _

_Loki._

"It's our job to keep people safe." Steve spoke up.

"_People_." Ciara heard Clint grumble the word under his breath, and by the way Steve's head inclined towards him, he had heard it too.

"To keep_ everyone_ safe. There have already been multiple reports of violent outbursts from the Asgardians." Steve crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, "I say we go to them. Show them that we won't tolerate it."

"It isn't our business. _He_ isn't our business." Bruce was next to speak, "Why should we get in the way?"

"Because they proved they couldn't deal with the situation appropriately once already, we shouldn't risk it again." Tony countered, "Lock him up. Somewhere far away, for a long time. Eliminate the threat. If they want to keep coming back, we'll be ready for them."

Banner was quick: "Our technology is less than half as advanced as Asgard's, right? Wherever we put him, there's a risk he'll get out. And then what?"

"Why not just kill him?" Clint intervened, "Let them know we finished the job and be done with it."

The room was silent. Each of them looked to the other, no one offering anything.

"He will not be harmed." Thor said, his voice gruff and harsh.

Clint raised his voice, "What side are you on?"

"The side of decency."

"When has Loki ever showed any decency?"

"You do not know my brother."

"I know as much as I need to."

"Loki will not be harmed." Thor matched Clint's volume.

"And what about the harm he's done to us?" Clint was seething, "Nevermind to the fucking world! We just forget about that?"

"Loki will be dealt with appropriately." Steve was calm, trying to halt the situation before it escalated, "But we're not executioners."

"And you've never taken a life?" One of the women who's name was unknown to Ciara spoke up, her voice heavily Russian accented. Her posture was perfect, with olive skin and pin straight black hair that stopped at her shoulders.

"There's a difference between cutting a man down on his knees versus standing." The Captain replied.

The Russian woman did not seem phased by the response, and said "Still dead in the end."

"We have an ethics code to abide by." Ciara finally decided it was time to add her piece. "And not to mention he's Thor's brother. He will not be touched."

Clint flinched and placed his elbow on the table, his mouth resting on his hand.

"And who are you?" The Russian looked to Ciara.

"Madam Ilyin, this is Agent Ciara Volkov." Fury interjected, "She's been working closely on the case."

"And why have I not heard of you before, Agent Volkov?" Madam Ilyin did not take her eyes off of Ciara.

"Respectfully, Madam, I could ask you the same question." Ciara replied coldly.

"It would serve you well to mind your tone, Agent."

Ciara could feel all eyes on her, and she forced herself to relax in order to not speak through clenched teeth. "My apologies Madam. My work on this case has been kept quiet, I'm sure we would have had the pleasure of meeting eventually."

"This," Natasha interceded, "This opposition, it's going to get us nowhere."

Tony rested his elbows on the table, "I say we call a blind vote." He looked to Thor, then Clint, "Deal with the Asgardians, or deal with Loki. Plain and simple. No judgment, no arguing."

A solid minute passed, and no one objected. A couple nodded in agreement. Thor stared blankly at the table. Clint's closed mouth still rested on his fist like he was physically keeping it shut.

"Settled." Fury said. "We vote on it."

Paper and pens were delivered to the room a couple minutes later, along with a SHIELD ball cap. The paper was torn up and passed around with the pens. The whole thing felt too simple for a decision that would mean life or death.

Ciara was in a state of panic. When they weren't being judged on their opinion, how many of these people would want Loki dead? She could not even attempt to calculate that - there were still three more individuals present whom had remained silent and she did not know the names or viewpoints of.

How had she gone from being Loki's accomplice to voting on whether or not he should be executed?

Loki's execution would mean that her life would return to its regular rhythm. She could build back the bonds with her colleagues, including some new ones. The Asgardians would be notified and their problems solved without combat.

But a tightness grew in her chest and throat at the prospect of Loki's death. The emotions she felt were confusing at the very least. The effect that he had had on her in their short time together felt so pronounced in the dire situation. She did not want to think about never sharing his company again.

"A checkmark if you think Loki should live and the Asgardians eliminated. An X if you think Loki should be dealt with, and the Asgardians notified." Tony said. "Fold the papers in half, and we'll pass the hat around when everyone is ready."

All at once, they focused their attention to the papers. A couple of them marked and folded the papers immediately - Thor, Clint, Madam Ilyin, Steve, one of the unknowns, Ciara.

The hat was passed around once everyone's pens were on the table, ending at Natasha. She stirred the contents of the hat with her fingertips, then reached in and pulled out a piece of paper.

"X." She passed it to the next person, and the hat continued going around the table of thirteen until the last piece was read out. Maria Hill had separate paper on which she marked down the checkmarks and Xs.

The hat ended on Steve. The vote was tied six to six and Ciara fought hard to appear relaxed. The tension made her want to scream.

The Captain unfolded the paper.

"Check."


	9. Misery Loves Company

Thankfully Ciara had enough self restraint so that when the vote was concluded she didn't smile, celebrate, give any indication of the relief she felt that Loki's life would be spared.

The problem of his imprisonment would be something that her and Thor would have to discuss in private later on. For then he was safe.

"Loki will stay in SHIELD possession until the threat is appropriately dealt with. If no one has anything else to add, this meeting is concluded. " Fury said.

No one spoke up, and Fury nodded, "You're all dismissed."

Clint was the first one to the door, followed closely by Ciara. Something was amiss with the way he was acting. The aggression he displayed in front of the members of the team and the SHIELD officials was uncharacteristic, Barton usually being one of the most level headed in the room.

Ciara stepped in to the elevator quickly behind him, selecting a floor and the close door button before he could even think to protest.

Both of them looked straight forward, at the closed door, as the elevator travelled upwards, to the roof level.

"I spoke to him earlier." Clint said.  
Ciara deadpanned, "And what did he have to say?"

"Nothing but bullshit."

"Then why are you acting this way?" She glanced at him, and he returned the look.  
"He's untrustworthy."

"Do you think your opinion might be biased?"

Clint fumed and looked to the doors again as they opened. She followed him out.

"Clint, answer me." She raised her voice, and he stopped, turned to face her.

"Do you think maybe _your _opinion might be a little biased? How am I supposed to trust him, Ciara?"

"You're not. You're supposed to trust _me_." She was shouting. Clint took a couple of steps back towards her. The hurt in her expression and voice were obvious.

"I do trust you." He replied.

Her tone became accusing, "You're lying." It was as easy to see as it had been with Loki. She could sense it in his tone, the way his jaw was tensing and relaxing. Ciara shook her head, "Why don't you trust me?"

"You ignored your orders, and you sided with him." Clint was fuming, "What if he had killed you?"

"He wouldn't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because if he wanted to, he could have." The volume of her voice had raised again. "Any time he wanted. In the hospital room, in the safe house, whenever and wherever he wanted."

"And you what, thought taking that risk was smart? Worth it? Or what?"

"You've always had a soft spot for birds with broken wings, Clint." Her eyes narrowed, "Are you telling me you've never had to make any risky judgment calls in those situations?"

"He's a fucking murderer Ciara." Clint replied, and immediately he thought of Natasha - the brutal assassin he had been sent to kill years ago, now one of his closest friends - and then added, "Some people don't change."

"You don't know him." Ciara answered.

"And you think you do?"

He had her there. She had barely just scratched the surface of who Loki was. She shrugged and answered, "I guess you'll just have to trust me."

Ciara turned heel and headed back into the elevator, stepping off on the living quarter floor and shutting the door to her room behind her.

She leaned against the door and took deep breaths, her nerves still on the very edge, the sleep deprivation spoiling her ability to maintain a clear head. She had been able to put forward a calm demeanor all day - at the meeting at least - and the stress of all that had transpired in the past forty eight hours hit her like a freight train.

Finally alone, she sunk down to the floor and rested her forehead in her hands, elbows propped up on her knees.

Her assessment of the situation was as follows:

Clint no longer believed her.

SHIELD kept her around purely on the premise that the super serum made her a tool of good use.

Loki would be imprisoned for the foreseeable future.

Ciara remained like that for a while, until her back started to ache and she relocated to the bed.

The digital clock on the wall read _16:22_, meaning that there was still plenty of day left. But she needed sleep, and it wasn't long after her head hit the pillow that it finally came over her.

_2:12_

The room was dead silent and dim, the only light sources being the hallway lights that crept under the door, and the clock.

Ciara's eyes opened gradually, adjusting to the darkness until she could make out the appliances in the room.

"You speak when you sleep."

Her head snapped towards the voice and she sat up instantly. She could make out his figure, seated where she had earlier, leaning against the door and looking in her direction.

_This is a dream._

She moved to turn on the light switch nearest to her bed. A hand grasped her wrist before she could reach it, and when she followed it to its owner, he was standing there.

"Calm." His smooth voice was hushed, and he released her arm back to her.

"You can't be here."

"I am not."

"You just grabbed my arm."

Loki sat down on the bed and relaxed against the wall, "Magic."

"Are you fucking with me?"

"Not yet." He teased.

"How did you find me?"

"If you would refer to my previous response."

Ciara swallowed, and leaned back against the wall, "Right. _Magic_."

"I'm pleased to see you're alright." He said, studying her closely.

She was surprised by the words. But she believed he was being truthful; the dark made it too difficult to read him for certainty.

After a long pause, Ciara spoke, "I know how they found us. They were tracking me."

Loki tipped his head, "How is that?"

"When we arrived last night, Fury met with me." Ciara bit her lip and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her forearms on top of them. "Back during my hospital stay I was nominated as a good candidate for some kind of special drug. It was an experimental thing SHIELD has been working on. An updated version of something they had come across in the past, but just recently cleared for testing."

Loki did not speak, so she continued.

"The last time the original was used on record was during World War II." She waited for him to process. She knew he had done his research on the team, the Avengers. 'A man out of time', that was how he had referred to the supersoldier in question on the helicarrier.

"Captain Rogers." He said, "So where does that leave you?"

Ciara shrugged, "Not sure yet." She couldn't decide whether or not to tell him about the meeting as well. What did he want that was worth the trouble of seeking her out?

"You're wondering why I've come." Loki said, and Ciara looked to him.

"Should I not be?"

Loki snorted softly, but his tone had no malice, "I can leave if you would prefer it." He said.

_No, stay._

The tiny voice in her head wasn't so small, she genuinely wanted him to stay. It felt like this was the first conversation since the arrival at the headquarters that she did not need to put up a false front. Ciara was relieved to be able to relax a little again, even if this was just a conjuration of Loki, and not the real thing.

"Can you stay?"

Loki searched her face, her words having resonated deeply within him. It had not taken long for him to find her. It was the time he had taken to decide whether or not he was going to do it that had taken up the majority of the day. He wanted to see her, to make sure she was alright. Ciara had exercised care for him when she took the risk of freeing him from SHIELD's possession. It was only fair that he return the gesture. At least, that was how he justified his decision to seek her out.

"It would be my pleasure."

She didn't miss a beat, "I talked to Clint. He said he spoke to you."

The memory of Barton earlier, how he had vowed that Loki would not have any access to Ciara, made him smug.

"He paid a visit."

Ciara rotated so that her back was to him, and then lay back and place her head squarely on his lap. "What about?"

Loki smirked a little bit and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. Ciara closed her eyes. He itched to be there for real to feel the silver strands.

"He wanted to know what my intentions were, with you."

Her eyes opened again, brows raised.

"And what did you tell him?"

"Only what he needed to know."

She urged him on, "Which was?"

"That your actions were built on your own choices, and that I had no hand in them." Loki let his fingers run through her hair absently, but could not feel her warmth through his conjured form. He remembered the warmth vividly.

"Agent Barton seems to believe I have an agenda."

"What else did you say?" She replied.

"Just that we were intimate."

Ciara shoved his hand away from her head, "What?" She hissed in a whisper.

"A joke." Loki looked amused, "Clearly not a good one."

_I alluded to touching you. Nothing else._

"Not funny at all." She muttered. That kind of information would be tragic, and it would be certain that Barton would carry strong judgment. She doubted he would be able to look at her the same.

Ciara closed her eyes again, Loki's hands lulling her into relaxation.

There were little reminders that brought her back to the reality that this wasn't the real Loki. His skin was devoid of warmth or cold, and she couldn't pick up on the sound of a heartbeat or even the sound of his breath, even though his shoulders raised and fell.

Then there was the thought. Why shouldn't she go see him? A decision had already been made regarding his fate, and she didn't dare to do anything that would set off alarms. She had even been given a seat at the meeting today, so she must have done well so far on Fury's test of trust. What reason was there for consequences just for speaking to him?

"Loki?" She said, and her eyes opened.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to come find you."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

She sat up and scooted off the bed, snatching her ID tag from the table and giving it a quick wave. "By looking."

Loki cocked his head, "Is this wise Ciara?"

Ciara was putting on a sweatshirt over the grey t-shirt she was still wearing from earlier. She shrugged and slipped into her shoes. "It's not unwise."

He stood, his imposing height complimented by the regal armour. His lips were pressed together in a thin line.

"See you soon." She said, before a golden glow engulfed him for a split second and he was gone.

Ciara lifted her tag to the lock on the door and stepped out, shutting it as softly as she could behind her.

The hallway was slightly less bright than during the daytime, and silence occupied every inch of space. Ciara guessed it must have been somewhere in the ballpark of 2:40. Save for some security officers it was a safe bet that she wouldn't be running into anyone.

She pressed the button on the elevator that led to the main/lobby area and scanned her tag. Once the doors opened again, Ciara had to transfer to a different elevator down a set of corridors. This was the only elevator in the building that had the ability to go to the captive holding floor, the one she presumed to be housing Loki.

In the minutes it took to reach her destination, she began playing scenarios in her head of the different things she would say when she saw him.

This would have to be a civil, but not overly friendly conversation.

There would be definite repercussions if she were to speak from any other platform than a SHIELD agent just doing her duty. She would be relaxed but not give any indication of there being something more than a business relationship between them.

The elevator emitted a loud buzz, and she was prompted to scan her tag once more before the doors would open, and reveal a long, wide walkway. Even more doors lined the walls to the left and right. Some kind of room was to her immediate left when she stepped out of the elevator, and a glass window revealed a couple of agents sitting inside.

"I'm looking for someone." She walked up to the window, and the Agent eyed her up and down before answering.

"Your name?"

"Ciara Volkov."

"Scan your tag please, Ms. Volkov."

She lifted it up to the device on the wall, and the agent looked to the computer screen in front of him for a couple seconds, then back to her.

"Who are you looking for, Agent Volkov?"

"Loki."

The security officer looked back at his partner in the room and gave a subtle nod. The partner stood and exited the room through a door, joining Ciara in the hallway.

"Follow me please." He said, then began walking away.

It was only after a multitude of doors and turns through the labyrinth of the holding floor that the officer stopped before a glass wall.

"Three knocks to come out." The officer said, "Do you have your firearm on you?"

"No." Ciara's attention was occupied by what was behind the glass wall.

Loki was slowly pacing, his hands clasped at his back, darkness surrounding his eyes like he had not slept for days. The armour he was clothed in was black in every respect, with just some small bits of gold detailing, as if it were reflecting the mood of the situation he found himself in. Imprisoned, alone.

Ciara steeled herself and opened the glass door, stepping inside and hearing it shut behind her with the loud click of a lock sliding back into place.

Loki stopped in his tracks and his gaze drifted to meet hers. A faint grin began to surface, but he showed no teeth.

"Agent Volkov." His normally blue eyes looked gray, but still gleamed at the sight of her, "What brings you at this hour?"

Ciara crossed her arms and stood still, tilting her head a little bit to the right. She knew they were being closely monitored, so she selected her words carefully.

"Thought you might like some company." She regarded the metal shelf on the wall, "Nice bed."

Loki snorted and paced over to take a seat on it. He rested a foot on its surface and the other on the ground, leaning back against the cement wall, "Your superiors are nothing if not hospitable."

Ciara was unmoving, and a small smile formed, "I'll let them know you said that."

A couple seconds of silence passed, each of them carefully studying the other. There was not a doubt in her mind that her superiors would know of this visit before she could get the opportunity to tell them what he thought of their hospitality.

"So what is it that keeps your mind so busy at this hour?" He spoke, his eyebrows lifting slightly, "Or will you be the one asking the questions?"

"This isn't an interrogation." Ciara pointed out. She threw a quick glance at one of the cameras built into the concrete, and then moved to take a seat next to him. "I'm just here to talk."

Her closeness made Loki smug, and he was compelled to reach out to her, but knew full well the sentiment might be viewed differently by her associates.

The proximity, the heat emanating from her and her very presence would have to serve to appease him for the time being. Loki was exhausted, and once again being confined to a personal prison and an unknown fate had done a small number on the trickster's mind.

He felt the same, familiar despondency he had felt frequently as of recent. It was beginning to be a frequent feeling, a realization that Loki tried to push away lest he show this newfound weakness to his captors. His emotions felt like they were at war with one another.

"Has Thor come to visit you yet?" Ciara asked, fully aware of the answer. But the look she gave him was pointed. This question was meant as concealed information - that Thor's role in the scheme to free Loki from SHIELD had not been found out, and the thunder god still remained safely in the agency's good graces.

"He has not." Loki replied, "I'm sure my brother has other, more pressing matters to attend to."

"I'd wager to say you're a priority."

"A touching thought, Agent." He said.

"Ciara." She corrected, "I think it's safe to say we're on a first name basis."

A smile formed again, and Loki dipped his head in response, "My apologies, Ciara."

Ciara nodded back and then let out a long sigh, resting her head against the concrete.

"Something is troubling you." Loki said.

Ciara looked to him, as if to caution him. Her being there had little reason to be brought up as an issue, but she wasn't about to be on camera spilling out her feelings to him.

"Just thinking." She replied.

This was true - she was thinking about the Asgardian assassins that had been sent to kill him. And the serum, the way that even when she felt drained, she was still stronger than she had ever been and then some. Her ear had even completely healed, which she had suspected to be ruptured after the multiple blasts from the stun gun.

Ciara knew that she wouldn't be able to share any of these thoughts with him while he was confined to the cell. And there was no one else that she could speak freely with, save for maybe Thor. But it was Loki that Ciara wanted.

"Don't overexert yourself." Loki smirked.

Without thinking, Ciara shoved him lightly on the shoulder, snapped out of her train of thought.

"Careful Ciara. You might start something you won't be able to finish."

She raised her eyebrows, "You're in an interesting position to be making threats."

Loki chuckled quietly but didn't respond, turning his gaze back to the glass wall ahead. Their reflections in it were perfectly clear, and she met his eyes in the mirror.

"I should head out." She said, to which he nodded.

Ciara stood and began walking towards the door. As she reached it, she turned to face him and gave a small bow, "It's been a pleasure."

A small smile surfaced on Loki's face, but his expression almost looked pained to her, "The pleasure has been all mine."

The door opened immediately after she knocked, and the security officer shut it behind her as soon as she stepped out. He escorted her back to the elevator, and she retraced her steps back to her room.

_9:44_

Ciara had gotten back to her room and showered, grabbed her computer, and headed to the food hall for the rest of the morning. Her conversation with Loki would seem pointless to anyone who watched it from an outside perspective, but it had served well in allowing her to assess what kind of state he was in.

The trickster seemed like a fragmented version of the man that she had heard described as a monster. His demeanor didn't exude svelte and sophistication the way it had his last time on Earth - instead, he gave off vibes of dysphoria, and even his humour seemed muted. It was so uncharacteristic, and it was hard for Ciara to watch.

"Am I interrupting?"

Thor's voice came from behind her, and Ciara looked back at him and smiled.

"Not at all."

Thor pulled out a chair across the small table and sat, coffee in hand.

"I saw that you visited Loki." He said, confirming her suspicion that Loki's cell was being _very_ closely watched, likely by all of those who had attended the meeting, "How did he seem?"

"Just about how I expected." She replied, "Troubled."

Thor nodded, looking considerably downtrodden himself. His hair was pulled together in a messy knot, and his casual clothes looked disheveled. Ciara fell into just about the same boat appearance wise. It was an absurd sight, the two of them surrounded by a room mostly populated with uniformed SHIELD personnel.

"My brother has gotten himself into and out of the worst of situations." Thor smiled to himself, "When we were younger he saved me from my own worst situations on many occasions." He shook his head and the expression dissipated, "This time it seems different somehow."

"In what sense?" Ciara asked.

Thor looked up from the table, to her, "I can't put a word to it."

"Maybe you should go see him. He might appreciate the company."

"My brother has not been one to appreciate my company for years." He said, "He seems to appreciate yours."

Ciara bit her lip, staring blankly at the table, "Misery loves company."

"I am sorry for what you have been brought in to, Lady Ciara. It was never my intention to burden anyone."

"You haven't brought me into anything Thor. Every choice I've made has been my own."

"I care for my brother. But everywhere he goes it seems peace is disturbed."

"I care about him too." Ciara said, "And this is all going to be figured out."

"May I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why do you care for him?"

Ciara paused, her lips parted to answer before the words could come to her.

Why did she care? Was it because she had taken a liking to the befallen god? No doubt she could feel the attraction she had for him, the calmness she felt in his company. The very way he looked at her made her feel… Relevant.

These were dangerous thoughts. Loki was a criminal in the eyes of SHIELD, possibly one of if not the most powerful they had ever come across. But there was a difference in the person that had shown up with an army, seeking out to rule the world and destroying anyone who stood in his path, versus the unstable individual Thor had brought to them. In one moment Loki would be quick witted and sharp, and in others he would choose to remain quiet, somber.

"I don't know." She finally said, "I just know that I can't let this be the end for him. Maybe that's selfish, maybe I should just let whatever happens, happen. But I won't."

"It is not selfish." Thor shook his head, "But you should know that Loki has a history of betrayal."

Ciara inhaled deeply and leaned back in her chair.

Loki had trusted her, she would just have to trust him.


	10. Of Good Use

**Finally in the chapter double digits! If you're enjoying so far or have anything to say be sure to leave a review, feedback makes writing this little thing that much more gratifying. (:**

**As always all material (characters, referenced past events) except for my original character and storyline belongs to Marvel.**

**Enjoy!**

It might possibly have been her riskiest move yet - which was saying something.

After the conversation with Thor, Ciara had plenty to think about in regards to the Loki situation. Namely so was: what could she do to get him out of that cell?

The conclusion that she came to was that nothing was even remotely possible but a straightforward approach. She would have to go directly to the man that pulled all the strings, and had the ultimate veto power when it came to important decisions within the agency.

So Ciara found herself back in the elevator, its destination set for the floor that housed the main operations command. There she would be able to find Director Fury.

She didn't bother to wonder who else had woken up and come across the footage of her visit with Loki the night prior. It was likely that the majority of those involved with the Asgardian situation had seen it, but their reactions would have to be dealt with another time.

"Is Fury in?" Ciara said, approaching the security desk that occupied the space directly in front of the elevator doors.

The agent seated behind it looked her up and down, then said "He's in a meeting."

"With who?" Ciara replied.

The agent glanced at the computer, then back to her. "Mr. Stark."

"Do you know when they'll be done?"

"You can take a seat and-"

"Hey kid." Tony came striding out of a door to the left of the desk. "How's the leg been treating you?"

Ciara smiled at the agent, then turned to Tony. "Amazing. I can't thank you enough."

Tony gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. "Nonsense. I'm happy to hear it." He gave her a pat on the shoulder, brushing by and heading towards the elevator. "See you later."

Ciara nodded. "Later." She turned her attention back to the desk. "Can I see him now?"

The agent eyed her and then gestured to the door Tony came out of. "He's through there."

Ciara didn't waste another minute, suppressing the apprehension she felt and heading in through the doorway.

The room was similar to any other office fit for a high executive, save for the windows having that same, darkening tint that made the daylight that entered the room half as bright. Fury was seated on the edge of the black desk when she walked in, typing something into a phone. His head immediately shot to her as she shut the door behind her.

"Volkov." He said, acknowledging her without a hint of surprise.

"Sir." She replied. "Do you have a moment?"

Fury's eye narrowed slightly, then he pocketed his phone and walked around to the back of the desk.

"I don't imagine this is about a friend of yours?" He said, crossing his arms. "I saw you paid him a visit."

Ciara pursed her lips.

_Friend._

The word Fury had used to describe Loki carried more meaning than the director realized. Ciara took a deep breath and braced herself.

"It is." She said, taking a seat in the chair in front of the desk. "I want to discuss terms of his release."

Fury was unmoving, his expression unfazed. "His release? I'm not sure you understand what you're asking for, Agent."

"But I do, sir. I wouldn't have come to you if I wasn't certain." She said.

"And it's your certainty that's supposed to change my mind?" He placed both palms against the desk and leaned forward. "Loki is in our custody, under SHIELD protection. I'm supposed to believe that somehow setting him free is a good idea?"

"I'm not asking that he be set free." Ciara could feel a tightness in her chest, but she paid it no mind. "I'm asking for a conditional release. He remains property of SHIELD, under our surveillance. Just not in a cell."

"And who's going to be responsible for that? You think I can just allocate manpower towards babysitting?"

She shook her head. "I'll do it. I'll vouch for him, he'll be under my guard."

"_You_ are under suspension."

"Respectfully sir, I'm not here so I can sit around and twiddle my thumbs all day." She stood up. "He could be of good use against the Asgardians. He knows how they work, their strategies, their battle tactics. And he sure as hell isn't being made good use of from that cell."

"I'm not interested in making good use of him." Fury said, his voice taking on a tone of irritation. "He isn't your friend, Volkov. He's the enemy."

Ciara matched his emphasis. "It wouldn't be the first time SHIELD made an ally out of an enemy."

"Loki's case is unique, if you might recall. He's beyond reason."

"But he isn't." She said, her gaze unwavering, her body inclined towards him as she spoke. "I've seen it firsthand."

Fury snorted and stood back upright, taking his hands off of the desk. "You want to bet your career on that assessment, Volkov?"

Ciara hesitated, having a hard time discerning whether he was bluffing or not. She knew her importance - she _thought _she knew her importance to the agency. The serum had given her not just physical and mental enhancements, but authoritative ones too. The augmentation made her a sharper, far more capable operative than before; something SHIELD was in ever-growing need of. She was banking on the premise that they needed her, and Fury would do everything in her power to retain her.

"Wholeheartedly, _sir_." She said.

Fury weighed his options. Declining Ciara's proposal would likely alienate her, a possibility that the director would rather not see happen, given the investment they had made in her.

Accepting the proposal would mean a logistical nightmare. Where would Loki be housed? What kind of security would they have to install and what measures would be put in place to assure that safety was prioritized?

"You understand the responsibility you will be handed if I allow this." He said.

"Absolutely." She replied.

"And the backlash? The risk we'll all be taking?"

Ciara nodded. "I wouldn't have come if I didn't."

Fury crossed his arms again, and she could almost see the gears turning as he thought.

"And what makes you believe he'll be willing to help us?"

"I trust him. And he has more reason than anyone else here to want to take down the Asgardians."

"You trust him." Fury said.

"With my life." Ciara said, the certainty she felt as she spoke the words so resolute and unwavering, it was almost a shock to her.

Fury knew then there was nothing he could say that would change her mind. Her steadfastness and her beliefs were so contradictory to his own, they were almost insubordinate. But he couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration at the way she held her ground, did not waver, spoke with nothing but truth. The director had possessed the ultimate say when Barton had brought her to them four years ago, and the personal growth he had witnessed from her since that very beginning was rarely seen.

"Then you have your wish Volkov. Dismissed." He said.

Ciara nodded, the relief and revelation that the decision had been made washing over her. "Thank you Sir."

She turned to head towards the door, but his voice reached her just as she opened it.

"If something goes wrong, it's on you."

Ciara turned to face him. "Understood." She said, and then left.

_18:40_

The majority of the day had been spent working out the specifics of Loki's release from the cell. Cameras were installed in one of the rooms on the floor that held living quarters for the agents who stayed on premises, and the lock was calibrated so that it remained locked from the outside between the hours of 21:00 and 6:00. Ciara was re-issued a firearm, and an earpiece that could put her in connection with help with the click of a button. She was en route to the holding level to retrieve Loki and escort him to his new room.

"I'll go in alone." She said to the security officer who had brought her to his cell. Three more officers were on standby, lest Loki try anything immediately upon his discharge. Thor had chosen to be absent for the event, stating that he didn't want his presence to stir up any pent up feelings Loki might have for him.

"Yes ma'am." The officer replied.

Ciara stepped up and opened the door.

Inside, Loki lay on the bench, one foot propped up on it and the other dangling over the edge. He still wore the black armour, and a small smile formed as he noticed her and sat up.

"Couldn't stay away?" He said.

She smirked and shook her head. "Hold out your hands please." Ciara raised the cuffs she had been given, another precaution.

Loki's head tilted slightly, but he stood and approached her, offering his hands without protest.

"Am I to know what's going on?" He asked.

Ciara secured the cuffs in place around his wrists, then looked up to meet his prying eyes. "Follow me please."

Loki's voice was hushed when he spoke again.

"Is this a trick, Agent?" He said.

Ciara let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "Not even remotely." She gestured back to the door, and he took one last look at her before he obliged and stepped out.

The agents immediately assembled around him. Ciara walked around the group and took point, heading back towards the elevator. She spoke into her earpiece. "En route back up."

Loki was thoroughly perplexed, and it irked him. In the past he might have taken advantage of the situation. Two agents to his left and right rear, the same on both sides to his front, Ciara leading the way. He could certainly take care of the SHIELD personnel, but with the knowledge of the serum she had been administered, she was a different story. Loki had been in combat with the patriotic Captain before, and the enhanced made for formidable opponents.

Not to mention he had no desire to fight her.

The group stepped into the elevator and Ciara lifted her ID tag to the scanner before they could be set into motion. Loki made note of that, just in case it came to be useful in the future.

The doors opened up to a floor swimming with SHIELD uniforms. They picked up many looks and distance was kept while the group navigated through the crowd, to another set of metal double doors.

Loki faced forwards, but he scanned the details of the room through his peripheries.

One wall occupied a series of glass and spinning doors. In front of that a barrier of full body scanners and more SHIELD security officers inspected every single person who exited or entered the building. The ceiling was so tall that the room almost seemed like an auditorium, with hallways and elevators littered around the perimeter.

His surveying was cut short as they stepped into another lift and Ciara repeated the same action with her ID tag, selecting an unmarked button from the excess of other unmarked buttons on the wall. The elevator lurched into movement upwards and his curiosity peaked even further.

The movement stopped after a short while and the doors opened to reveal a hallway that branched out into many others, all with identical doors equally spaced apart.

"I've got it from here." Ciara said. She motioned forwards with her hand, looking pointedly at Loki until he understood and stepped out of the elevator. The doors shut behind him, and the two were left alone.

She did not say anything just yet, instead walking forwards - in the direction of her room - and halting outside.

"This is you." She said, pointing at the door adjacent to hers.

Loki's eyebrows raised.

"I'll explain when we're inside." She said, in answer to his clear confusion.

The room was unlocked, so Loki stepped into the room. Ciara was close behind him and she shut the door.

"Hands." She said, to which Loki held them out while she released the clocks with a tap from the watch on her wrist.

"Ciara." He said, and she immediately looked up to him. "Explain."

Ciara knew there were cameras on them. She wouldn't be able to divulge too much, but the moment he stepped out of that cell Loki had become her responsibility. He had to be somewhat informed.

"You've been conditionally released." She said, walking over to the desk and taking a seat in the chair, identical to the one in her room. "This is your room. Your curfew is 21:00 to 6:00 and you'll be accompanied whenever you're anywhere but here." Before Loki could begin, she held up her hand. "By me."

At this, the Trickster felt a familiar spark go off within him. His release had been a result of her actions, and so she had been made in charge of him. If he misstepped, misbehaved, caused any problems, she would be the one to answer for it.

"I don't suppose this was your Director's idea?" He asked.

"It was Fury's order." She answered. Ciara knew that Loki was aware it was her doing by then, but he just couldn't resist the opportunity to poke at Fury. "Do you have any questions?"

Loki began to scan the room, taking small steps and noticing the locations of the cameras. Those would be easy to manipulate with a small amount of magic if need be.

"No questions." Loki turned towards her.

_Just one more thing. _His voice intruded on her thoughts, and it was all she could do to not outwardly show her surprise.

Loki laughed, not in her thoughts but out loud, and Ciara's eyes grew slightly wider.

"I cannot read minds, Ciara. Just speak in them." He said, then motioned towards the cameras. "Don't worry, they cannot see or hear us right now."

He had manipulated them - as well as those in the hallway - so that to any prying eyes it appeared Ciara had left, and he sat in the bed. Loki had found earth technology surprisingly easy to influence during his time on the planet, and it proved a useful skill.

***Authors note: M rating warning. If you're sensitive to smut, skip ahead to the next author's note!**

He approached her slowly, stopping just before her and taking her face in his hands. The blue eyes that shone back at him were alive with light, only to slowly shut as Loki leaned in and their lips met.

"Thank you Ciara." He whispered, his face still directly before hers.

She bit her lip and a playful smile formed, not taking her eyes off of his. "Don't fuck this up." She said.

_Finally, alone. _She thought.

That was enough for him. Loki drew her face back to his and their lips locked once again, this time with a passionate urgency that threw her off at first.

She met him with the same intensity once her bearings were regained. His tongue was warm and his embrace so inviting. Ciara pressed her body up against his and reveled in the way it made her feel; like a suit of armour enveloped them, they were untouchable.

But his armour didn't last very long. Loki scooped her up and laid her down on the bed, never letting their bodies stray far from one another. One hand shifted up to the back of her head and his fingers intertwined in her hair, giving a light tug as he moved his lips to her neck. A golden glow engulfed both of their bodies, and they were both suddenly bare.

Ciara gasped sharply as he trailed his kisses along the crook of her neck, his teeth lightly grazing along her ear.

The sound of her breath enticed Loki so deeply, and a fraction of a second later he was buried within her. The moan that escaped from her parted lips was like a prize to him as he let out a muffled groan, the way she felt appeasing every desire for her touch that he had fostered during his time in the cell.

Her skin felt soft but her body strong and dense, the serum seeming to have slowly changed her physique over time instead of all at once. With every movement of his hips Loki felt a tightening in his stomach, the sensations that she caused him to feel unlike anything he had experienced.

"Fuck Loki." She whispered, his lips still traversing her throat, his hand still gripping her hair and holding her head in place.

He felt it when she had her release, and he followed suit, allowing himself to unbind. Sounds of pleasure accompanied her breathing as her grip on his back grew so tight he could feel her fingertips leaving harsh indents. Loki released her hair and buried his face on her shoulder, waves of bliss running through the two of them as they remained there, riding out the feeling.

When breathing returned to normal, Loki slipped off of her, laying on his back but still pressed up against her due to the size of the bed.

***Authors note: End of smut. Resume story.**

"Not exactly what I expected to happen." Ciara said, turning her head to look at him.

Loki mirrored the movement. "What _did_ you expect to happen?"

Ciara considered the question, and a small grin tugged on the corners of her lips. "Fair point."

Turning on his side to face her completely, Loki propped himself up on one arm and used the other to tuck stray hairs behind her ear.

"Why did you do it?" He asked.

Ciara shifted so she was in the same position as him, her brows slightly furrowed.

"I assumed you would do the same for me." She said, guessing he was referring to her hand in his release.

Loki's expression didn't change. "What makes you so sure of that?"

"Okay, how about this then." She said. "Because there are people who care about you."

He watched her intently, but for all of his ability to read people, he couldn't decipher a single thing she was thinking. It was an endless source of frustration.

"Thor?" He asked.

"_I_ care about you."

"You shouldn't." Loki said.

"You're right." Ciara blurted out, sitting up and then standing. She looked around for her clothes, only to remember that they had been vanished. "I shouldn't." She said.

Loki sat up while the glow encompassed them both, and they were clothed again.

"But you care for me anyways. Even though many signs point towards the notion that you should not." He stood, his eyes glistening and a solemn expression present. "For that I am grateful."

The potency of his desire for her was overbearing. It occupied his mind. It was the way she spoke, carried herself, appeared. It was the way that she had offered him more decency from the moment they met than anyone had for a very long time. Around her Loki felt substantial, and meaningful. He felt like he had someone.

That is why when she admitted to her care for him, his initial response was to go on the defensive. Attachment to others was something Loki had avoided for so long in the fear of being cast away again, and the rage that this abandonment brought to him. But Ciara made his defenses feel weakened, and it wasn't an unwelcome feeling.

"You're grateful." Her lips pressed into a firm line and she nodded. "I'm really, really glad you're grateful Loki."

Loki took a deep breath when she turned to leave. Before she could reach the door, his hand grasped her forearm.

"I only hope…" He said, and Ciara peered over her shoulder at him. "That I will have the opportunity to demonstrate my care for you."

The slightest grin curled his lips as he lifted her hand and gave it a gentle kiss.

_You sly, charming fuck._ Ciara thought.

"I will see you tomorrow, Ciara."

Ciara dipped her head, and smiled sweetly. "Don't fuck this up, Loki."

Loki bowed, the smirk still present, and Ciara took her exit.

**Okay. So sweet Loki is a weird thing to write, because I really don't know how he might act in a romantic situation (it's never been canonically depicted). Hopefully I did him a bit of justice.**

**Until next time. (:**


	11. Worst Behaviour

**A bit of a shorter chapter! This one is kind of a branch into what I'm planning to be a more action-packed one.**

**As always, thank you all so much for reading this far. Drop a review and let me know your thoughts!**

The next morning Ciara woke to incessant beeping from her watch, and she peered at the screen through one barely opened eye.

_Exit attempt. _It read.

The time was _5:46_, meaning that Loki had given a shot at opening the door before his curfew was up. Ciara grumbled and rubbed her face with her hands, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and lazily getting dressed in similar attire to what she had worn the day before. She pulled her hair up into a bun and snatched her ID tag from the desk before heading out the door.

A couple of agents occupied the hallway, looking considerably less in a state of disarray than her. The ones who chose to take up residence at the headquarters more often than not only stayed there for some of the time - like when working hours were long and it was just easier not to return to their own homes. It was an intense lifestyle, and work consumed them, but SHIELD compensated their personnel generously.

"Loki." Ciara said, knocking on his door as the two agents from the hallway disappeared into the elevator together.

She waved her tag over the RFID scanner on the wall next to the door, opening it after the lock clicked. Her watch beeped again and read _Door open._

He sat on the bed, absentmindedly tossing a pen up into the air and catching it, halting when he caught sight of her.

"You tried to leave?" She said, rubbing her eyes.

Loki was dressed in clothes supplied by SHIELD. A black long sleeve and dark grey athletic pants, with his hair the shortest she had ever seen it, almost resembling a buzz cut but still with some extra length on top. He looked… Human?

"Did you cut your hair?" She asked, looking bemused.

Loki stood and placed the pen back on the desk. "Better not to stick out more than necessary, I think?" He said.

Ciara nodded, but the sight of him first thing in the morning, looking so normal, was a little bit dazing.

"Well, um, did you want to go get some coffee?" She asked.

"Lead the way." He said.

Ciara huffed and gave another nod, the strangeness of the whole situation a solid shock to the system so early in the morning. She began back out into the hallway and Loki followed shortly thereafter.

"How did you sleep?" She asked, as they made their way into the elevator.

"Well enough." He said, turning his head to her. "And you?"

"Best I have in a while." Ciara said, then continued. "When we get out, don't leave my side, okay? And behave."

Loki smirked, but he recognized the seriousness of her tone. "I have no intention of making you look bad, Ciara."

"I know, just… Be chill." She said.

"I will be on my best behaviour, you have my word." He replied, and the elevator doors opened.

The room was relatively empty, given that everyone was just beginning to wake up, and most of the staff wouldn't arrive until around eight. Loki and Ciara strode across the room, and she began to make up a mug for herself.

"How do you take your coffee?" She said.

Loki looked a little bit clueless, so she just poured him a mug and handed it to him.

"Black." She said, grinning and taking a sip from her own cup.

Ciara caught a glimpse of Natasha out of the corner of her eye, and her expression hardened. "Let's go sit." She said.

He followed her closely as they selected a table off towards the edge of the room. Loki enjoyed the coffee, so much so that his mug was empty a couple of minutes after they sat down.

"Ciara." Natasha had approached the table, and she regarded them both. "Loki."

Loki dipped his head in response. "Agent Romanoff."

"This seat taken?" Natasha said.

Ciara motioned to it with her hand. "Nope."

The agent sat down, the seat she chose equal distance from Loki and Ciara, so that they formed a triangle.

"How's the new room treating you?" Natasha said, nonchalant. Her eyes focused over the edge of her mug on Loki, whose presence she didn't seem to be bothered by. Ciara looked to him as well.

His lips formed a slight smile, and he answered. "A grand improvement from past ones."

"Happy to hear it." She said, mimicking his expression. "No one was sure what to think about your release when we were told yesterday."

"And your opinion, Agent Romanoff?" Loki respected her ability to be straightforward. He wasn't sure whether to attribute her calmness to her ability to follow orders - Fury had made the order for his discharge, so she accepted it - or if this was just another elaborate deception on her part. The former was more likely, since the latter seemed pointless, given the fact that he possessed no information she could possibly need or want. Her civility was gladly received either way.

Natasha shrugged. "I trust Fury's judgment. And I trust her judgement." She said, tilting her mug towards Ciara. "She makes a convincing argument. You're lucky to have her on your side."

Loki's focus pulled back to Ciara, and the smile resurfaced.

"That I am." He said.

The discomfort Ciara felt in the beginning had been palpable, but she was slowly beginning to realize Natasha was being genuine. It felt like an overstatement to say that Natasha and Loki were similar people, but they did have a few very meaningful things in common.

It seemed like just when the trio had begun to relax a little bit, Ciara saw Clint approaching from the elevator. He didn't appear angry based on his expression, but he walked quicker than normal.

"Ciara." He stopped just before the table. "A word with you - alone?"

She looked to Loki, but Natasha cut her off before she could respond. "I'll stay with him. You go."

Ciara stood up and followed Clint as he put distance between them and the table. She could feel Loki's eyes on her as she passed him.

"Do you have any clue how dangerous this is?" Clint said, his voice slightly hushed but audibly agitated.

"No more dangerous to anyone than the Asgardians that have been sent to kill him." She replied.

Clint's jaw clenched. "He belongs in a cage. At least until the problem is dealt with and we can figure out what we're going to do with him."

"The longer you kept him isolated in a cell, the more dangerous and unpredictable he would have become." She said.

Clint scoffed, and he shook his head, a sarcastic smile on his face. "That's why you wanted him out so soon, right?" He leaned in closer to her. "You know this is wrong, Ciara. He's using you."

Ciara's eyes narrowed. "No, we're using him." She said, feeling her face grow heated. "We're going to use Loki to get rid of the threat. And then maybe, when you see that I'm right, we'll figure out what we're going to do with him."

"I care about you Ciara. You know I do." Clint said, posturing up and biting his lower lip. "But I don't know why you keep protecting him. I genuinely don't."

Ciara breathed deeply through her nose. She couldn't reveal to him the revelation that she had experienced - that she cared about Loki. That she could feel herself falling for him. It was fucking absurd.

"I don't want to fight, Clint. If you aren't going to trust me, at least just give it some time. Give him a chance." She said.

Clint glanced over at the table where Loki and Natasha sat, and saw their lips moving, their attention fixed on one another as they spoke about something.

"It's my job to keep you safe." He said, turning back to Ciara. "You watch my back, I watch yours. That's what we do." Clint's expression was softer than before. "If he hurts you, I'll kill him myself." With that, he departed back towards the elevator and withdrew from her view.

Ciara took a couple of seconds to collect herself before she headed back to the table. She wasn't sure how that exchange was going to unfold from the moment Fury had approved her request. It had been clear since the meeting that Clint would prefer Loki just be dead and done with, and part of her wondered if the archer was happy to potentially have an excuse to carry out the deed.

Except Ciara was fairly certain at this point that Loki didn't have any intentions to harm her. In fact, thus far, she had experienced quite the opposite.

She sat back in her seat, and Loki's prying eyes bore holes into her.

"Give him time." Natasha said.

It seemed like all they needed was more time - she had asked the same of Clint in regards to Loki.

_Give it some time. Give him a chance._

But the threat of the Asgardian assassins was looming, and each day carried with it new reports of their movements. It wouldn't be long before they discovered Loki's real location, and all of the security that the base had to offer might not be enough to stave them off.

"He won't change his mind." Ciara said, finishing her coffee and leaning against the backrest of the chair. "I've never seen him like this."

"He's felt responsible for you for years. You remember how he was after the incident." Natasha said. "This is the first time you've taken a risk he's not sure he can keep you safe from."

Loki was looking at Natasha as she spoke, so he caught her brief glance towards the end of her words. Of course, he was the risk. He had become so comfortable in Ciara's company, that he had forgotten for a split second that his presence around her was considered by some to be borne of malicious intent.

"He cares about you very much. And he has good justification to mistrust me." Loki said, and both girls looked to him simultaneously.

_We got off on the wrong foot._ Loki thought, and he contained a flinch at the memory. He remembered the sceptre vividly, glorious and deadly. The power it possessed that enabled the user control over the minds of others. But the rage he felt in its presence.

Loki knew his emotions well. He had been sensitive to them for the entirety of his existence.

When he hated, he despised with all of his heart.

When he felt grief, he bubbled with obsession and dysphoria.

When he felt powerful, no person or thing could bring him down.

When he felt rage, no person or thing in his path was safe.

And the sceptre in his hands had brought him the strongest, most focused forms of rage and power he had ever experienced. Coupled with a calculating tricksters mind, and he had become absolutely corrupted. It had been the perfect storm.

"Ciara is safe, Agent Romanoff." He continued, returning her stare.

Natasha tilted her head. "You make it sound like I'm worried about her." She said, and she looked humoured. "She can handle herself. And she's got some strong friends behind her." Natasha grabbed her mug from the table and stood, her gaze not leaving Loki. "I'll see you both later."

"Later." Ciara said, as they watched her also head to the elevator.

"Is everyone always up this early?" Loki quipped.

Ciara rubbed her face with one hand and turned her attention from Loki to down at the table while she spoke.

"Just the ones that can't sleep."

They spent the better part of the morning in the food hall, drinking copious amounts of coffee (which Loki really, really liked). Ciara was feeling jittery and very much desired to move by the time Thor showed up, but she still welcomed the new company.

"Lady Ciara, Loki." He regarded them and sat down where Natasha had.

"Hey." Ciara said, her eyes darting between the two brothers.

"You appear to be adjusting well, brother." Thor said.

Loki raised his eyebrows. "The alternative somehow seemed less preferable."

"The cell was precautionary. SHIELD's only concern is the safety of their people." Thor replied.

"Just like Father's." Loki crossed his arms, but his expression looked amused. "When he ordered my execution."

Thor was tiptoeing on dangerous ground, and Ciara could feel the tension already rising.

"You have an interesting way of saying thank you, Brother." Thor said.

"Who's to say I am thankful?"

"You would be dead if not for me."

"Always looking to play the hero, aren't you?"

"You are my brother. You would rather I watched you die?"

"Guys." Ciara said, feeling it was probably a good time to step in. "Time and place."

The two shared the same, intense gaze for a couple moments longer, before Thor broke the stare and turned to Ciara.

"My apologies, Lady Ciara." Thor said.

"None taken." She looked to Loki. "We should head out."

_And where will we go? _She heard his voice in her mind, and her jaw clenched.

"Best behaviour, remember?" She said, then stood. "Later Thor."

Ciara began walking away from the table, and Loki hesitated before he followed suit. When they were in the elevator, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Barton wants me killed." Loki mused.

"That seems to be a common theme with you." She said, turning her head to look at him. "You never told me why Thor brought you here."

Loki frowned. "It was never necessary information."

"It's always been necessary information. Especially now."

"Why especially now?" He asked.

Ciara stiffened and bit down hard enough on her lip, that a metallic taste seeped into her mouth. The Asgardian threat - they were here for him. But they weren't just here for him, they were here to kill him. His own father's orders. He had a right to know.

She scanned her tag and hit the button on the elevator that lead to the roof, possibly the only place in the entire facility where they would be able to speak without fear of being overheard. And Loki wouldn't have to manipulate any cameras.

"Ciara." He pressed.

"Just-" She shot him a sharp glare. "Wait."

The doors opened after a minute of silence, and Ciara walked out to the barrier of the roof. She sat down and composed her words carefully.

"There have been Asgardian sightings across the city. They're being monitored by SHIELD, but they keep taking out our recon." She gripped the concrete of the ledge tightly, her knuckles going white with strain. "All signs point to the idea that they're here for you."

Loki remained quiet, so she continued.

"The plan is to face them head on. I was only able to get you out on the notion that you would be a part of the team assigned to doing that."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "You wish for me to be a part of your team." He chuckled and took a couple of steps, looking out beyond the rooftop to the city below. "To take down Odin's assassins."

Ciara's eyes followed his every movement. "Yes."

He turned to look at her then, and a new light illuminated his eyes, the hunger ever-present in the blue of them. It was a look she hadn't seen since his first visit to New York.

"When do we start?"


	12. Watch My Back

**Sorry for the little delay on this one! Life got in the way for a week, but I wrote this all in a day and I've come back with the longest chapter yet.**

**There were some scenes in this one that I think I rewrote 30 times before I was finally kind of happy with them. But I really like how everything turned out in the end, so enjoy and leave a review if you're feeling it! (:**

The lunchroom had been enough interaction with others for the day. Ciara escorted Loki back to his room after their rooftop conversation, and then retired to her own to shower. It was minutes later that she was asleep on her bed, and the day disappeared.

_11:44_

When Ciara eventually woke, she was disoriented. The clock was even more disorienting.

_Holy fuck. I just slept through the whole day. _

She began to get dressed, her fingertips brushing over the amputation point as she leisurely moved. The skin was fully healed, with just a light pink sheen from the scar that had formed over to show for what had happened. Her adjustment to the prosthetic had happened so organically, it was just built into her routine. It was so low maintenance that it was surreal.

But then again, her grasp on and the gap between what was real or not had become more of a blurred line than a harsh border as of recent.

She would, however, have to seek out Tony somehow at some point to inquire about merging the remote that controlled the leg with her watch.

The largest problem - and it could barely be considered on - she had encountered so far was dressing over the leg, and that was miniscule compared to the hell she had planned on going through. The news of the serum had been a shock to the system to say the least, but the benefits she was reaping were unlike anything she had ever felt.

_Meeting tomorrow 9:00_

Ciara lifted her phone from the desk and read the message a couple times. Natasha had sent it.

_Bring Loki._

She stared at the screen, then sent back:

_Who else will be there?_

Natasha was quick to reply. _Everyone._

There must have been a development in the Asgardian situation. She couldn't even fathom the reason for Loki's invitation other than if circumstances were dire.

_Same room as last time? _She said.

_Yup._

Ciara tossed her phone back on the bed and looked in the mirror. The reflection that looked back at her was so different from what she had been accustomed to, but it grew more familiar to her by the day.

The introduction of the serum had changed her body. Her muscles were more angular, defined. Feminine curves were no longer as present - that is, they essentially weren't - and her eyes had this sharpness to them that made the steel blue of them more shocking than ever.

Her mind remained the same, but the enhanced senses allowed her to take in and process information faster and more efficiently. She didn't think any clearer, per se, but it felt like she took in and had more data to work with.

Ciara finished getting dressed and glanced at her watch, _12:06. _A solid nine hours to kill before the meeting, assuming she wouldn't be getting any more sleep.

She headed out of her room, slipping her phone in the pocket of her pants. The hallway was empty when she scanned her tag to unlock and knock on his door. There was some shuffling from inside, footsteps, and then he was standing in front of her.

_Door open. _Her watch beeped at her.

Loki had not changed from what he had been wearing that morning, and his oddly normal appearance was something she would have to grow accustomed to.

"Hey." She said.

Loki's eyebrows raised, and he gestured for her to come inside.

Ciara gathered herself. "No, we're going somewhere."

"At this hour?"

"Not a fan of surprises?" Ciara said.

Loki smirked and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. "Depends what kind of surprise it is."

Ciara tilted her head and crossed her arms as well. "Have I ever led you wrong before?"

"Not intentionally."

"You're more than welcome to stay in your room."

"As long as the company is pleasant."

"Company is leaving." She snorted and looked at him incessantly. "Let's go."

To Loki, the very sight of her was enough of a pleasant surprise. The room was dull, boring, and in it he was left alone with nothing but his thoughts. And his thoughts were toxic. They bounced inside of his skull and reverberated with feelings of trepidation.

That this person before him would suddenly disappear, that he would alienate her or wrong her in some shape or form and he would be alone again.

That the Asgardians sent to kill him would be a force SHIELD was incapable of stopping (this thought was combated by the excitement he felt at the prospect of facing them, as he yearned for battle).

Ciara rescued him from his own mind. Around her he felt at ease and it was a feeling that was unfamiliar to him, but more and more he felt himself seeking out.

"After you." He said, stepping out next to her and shutting the door behind him.

As they entered the elevator Ciara hit another unmarked button.

She smelled clean. Her hair was not tied up. It was a bit of a mess, and it fell along her shoulders and back in silver tresses. Loki felt his desire to reach out and touch her grow.

_You are so enticing. _He thought to himself.

They stepped off onto a floor that opened up into a massive room not unlike the lobby of the building. Except this one was zoned into different areas. One housed what appeared to be a shooting range, another a variety of exercise equipment. A chemical smell wafted through the air and Loki couldn't figure out the source of it.

"Am I to know what I'm looking at?" He said.

Ciara grinned and began walking towards the shooting range. She glanced back over her shoulder and replied. "Training hall."

No others occupied the room at that hour, so there was no one to pay mind to Ciara and Loki as they approached the range.

A cage stood a couple feet from them, and she used her tag to release the lock on it and reveal the firearms within, all of which were some variety of handgun. She selected one, as well as a magazine, and then shut the cage. The lock reengaged.

"This is your surprise?" Loki asked, but he could not keep a smirk from tugging on the corners of his lips.

"Yes." She said, sliding the magazine in and watching him intently, no longer grinning.

"It's a good surprise." He mused.

Ciara set the gun down on the counter. "Have you ever shot a gun before?"

"I can't say I have." He stepped up to the counter and turned his head to shoot her a smile. "Not my preferred weapon." A golden glow radiated from his hand, and in its place a dagger appeared. "Ladies first."

Ciara snorted and turned to the range, lifting the handgun taking a moment to breathe before she fired off three subsequent rounds at one of the targets. Each landed in close proximity to the bullseye, just shy a couple of millimetres on each shot.

Loki didn't hesitate to go next, releasing the dagger in one fluid movement. The weapon was engulfed in another glimmer of gold, and it split into three smaller version of itself, each of which nailed the bullseyes of the targets. Before Ciara could react, he repeated the process, the blades once again hitting their marks.

Ciara did not shift her focus from the range. She raised the handgun and let loose several rounds at the center target, many of which skimmed the handles of the knives. The clicking of an empty clip followed her final shot.

"Fuck." She muttered, then turned to him. "You're cheating."

Loki frowned, but a laugh escaped his lips and he held up his hands as if claiming innocence. "How am I cheating?"

"_Magic_." She said.

Loki dropped his hands and chuckled. "It does not take magic to be skillful."

Ciara placed the handgun back down and shrugged. "Teach me then."

"Teach you?"

She nodded. "Teach me."

Loki's eyes narrowed. He lifted his hand palm face up, and another knife materialized. "Take it."

Ciara faltered, uncertain, before she grasped the handle. The weapon was incredibly lightweight, and the handle felt as though it melded perfectly to her hand as she held it.

"Look at your target." He said.

Ciara faced the range, and Loki stepped up behind her.

"Visualize what you want to do." He spoke softly, and she flinched as she felt his hands rest on her shoulders. "Picture what you want to do. What is it that you want to hit?"

"The target." She said.

Loki smirked and lowered his head, so he was just inches from her ear. "No, _your_ target."

Inhaling deeply, Ciara tightened her grip on the hilt. She felt his hands leave her shoulders as he took a couple of steps back.

In her mind, the image of the center target had changed. In its place she envisioned a faceless figure, the one that she had imagined since her mission not long ago. The one who Clint had taken out just seconds too late. The person who had fired the bullet that would take her leg and set in motion events that could never be undone.

Ciara released the dagger the same way Loki had. It did not split, nor did it hit the bullseye. It landed just below where his had. Frustrated, she turned to look at him.

"Not bad." He said, stepping closer to her. "It'll come. With time."

"And lots of practice." She said, exhaling sharply through her nose.

The sound of footsteps approaching them from the elevator drew their gazes away from one another. They belonged to Natasha and Clint, both dressed in their respective uniforms. Ciara could see the bow peeking out from over Clint's shoulder.

"Change of plans." Clint regarded the two of them carefully. Their close proximity, the way Loki towered over, blocked her from his view. "Meeting is happening now."

Ciara took a step to her side, away from Loki. "What's going on?" She said.

"Get your gear from Armour and meet at Command in twenty." Clint said, and the two agents turned to leave.

Ciara's gaze darted to Loki, and he spoke. "Meeting?"

"Meeting." She began striding to the elevator. "I'll explain on the way."

They stood in the elevator in silence.

Loki and Ciara had gone right to Armour to get her outfitted. What she wore resembled a black SWAT uniform, but with less bulk to it, and no headgear. It fit her semi-tightly, and the pant leg traveled beneath the prosthetic to wrap around the residual limb. She had her hair drawn back in a braid and a firearm strapped to her thigh. Her expression had not lost its stoicism since they left the training hall.

Loki had exchanged his earthly appearance for a lesser version of his black armour, but he still looked undoubtedly regal. When Ciara had told him of the meeting she was informed of earlier in the day, and of the invitation that had been extended to him, he had felt a shift. SHIELD was genuine in regards to their intentions of making use of him, and there he was. About to be made use of.

A pair of agents were waiting for them when the doors opened.

"With us, please." One of them said.

They followed them through a doorway, into a separate room - one that resembled Command on the helicarrier Ciara had once been on - and were greeted by the sight of the entire team. The room was almost empty except for them.

Nearly the whole team surrounded a table, and Fury immediately caught sight of them as they approached.

Ciara scanned the faces present. _Clint, Natasha, Steve, Fury, Thor. No Bruce, Hill or Tony. _

Fury tipped his head towards Steve. "Brief them."

The captain paused as he looked them over before he talked. "An hour ago one of our recon teams reported Asgardian movement a couple of blocks from here. They've missed two check-ins since." He took a deep breath, and his jaw clenched. "We're locking down the base."

"We're letting them come to us?" Ciara said.

"No, that's why we're here." Natasha replied. "_We _are going to find them first."

Ciara nodded. "Where are Stark and Banner?"

"They won't be here until tomorrow morning." Steve answered.

"You'll be in teams of two. Thor and Rogers. Barton and Romanoff. Volkov and Loki." Fury said, interjecting. "Volkov and Loki will be going to the last known location of the Asgardians. Set up somewhere safe and wait for further instructions." He watched Loki with a narrowed eye as he spoke, his voice stern. "Barton and Romanoff, you're going to the last place the recon team was when they checked in. Stay close to Volkov and Loki, in case they have company. Thor and Rogers, you're search and support. Sweep the surrounding area. Keep an eye out and stay communicative." The director placed his hands on the table and scanned the room. "Questions?"

When no one spoke, Fury continued. "Good. Usual rules apply. Keep it discrete, and get it done."

As they all walked back and boarded the elevator, Ciara had to bite her lip to hold back a small laugh at the comedy the visual of all of them encased together must have been.

_This is serious. Don't fucking laugh. _She thought.

When the doors finally opened on the garage level, Clint raised an arm abruptly. It landed on Loki's chest, stopping him from walking forwards.

"Watch her back." Clint said, glaring at Loki, Loki returning the stare.

Loki's eyes narrowed, but he was unmoving. Steve, Thor, and Natasha turned back to look at the three of them.

"I believe it's _your_ job to watch our backs, Agent Barton." Loki said.

"Hey." Ciara said, alternating her gaze between the two of them. "Not now."

Clint stared coldly for a couple more seconds before he dropped his hand, and the three joined the others.

"We go on foot. GPS's are set on your watches." Steve said, then looked to Ciara. "Loki doesn't have an earpiece, so you need to be with him at all times." She nodded in response.

They all halted in front of the garage door ramp. The Captain scanned his tag next to a smaller, personnel exit to the left of it.

"Stick to the backstreets, and report anything you see." Steve said.

Each of them filed out the door, moving up the ramp and branching out into separate directions. The dim light of her watch came aglow and the device vibrated on Ciara's wrist, displaying the route. Loki walked behind her, seemingly blending in with the shadows of the buildings as they advanced down an alley.

_Comms check. _Natasha's voice said in her ear.

_Check._

_Check._

_Check._

_Check._

"Check." Loki whispered, throwing a sideways smile at Ciara.

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes. The night gave them some cover, and Loki and Ciara moved carefully. The streets were mostly empty, and they likely weren't the most odd-looking anyways should they happen to be spotted.

"Coming up on the location." Ciara said. They were just around the corner from the intersection the Asgardians had been spotted by. If they were still around, they would be close.

_We're on the Northwest roof. _Clint said. Ciara looked up to the specified spot, and could make out the top of his distant figure. Her eyes traced along the edge of the building until she made out Natasha about halfway to the other side of the roof.

Ciara turned to Loki and tipped her head out towards the intersection. "This is us."

Loki surveyed the area, leaning against the wall of the alley and peering out onto the street. A couple of people entered a shop across the junction, and a car drove by.

_Movement, southwest rooftop. _Natasha said.

Ciara's head shot back as she looked up, pulling her handgun from its holster. The fire escape obscured her view. "We're going up." She said.

_No, stay. _Natasha said, then continued. _Steve?_

_On our way. _Steve replied.

"We're bait." Loki whispered, looking up the side of the building.

Ciara pressed the mute on her earpiece - so that she would not be heard but she could hear them - and brought her attention back to him. "What?"

Loki's lips were pressed together in a firm line, and he returned her stare.

"We're _bait_." He repeated.

That was when it dawned on her. He was right. Fury had sent them directly into the heat, so that the others could take the Asgardians out from a distance. She could hear her blood as it rushed, and her ears grew hot.

_Fuck. _She thought.

_We're on the southeast rooftop. I have eyes on them. _Steve said. _I can only make out three. They're on the western corner._

Loki and Ciara stood in the alley adjacent to the building the Asgardians were situated on. Both of the other pairs would have to cross a street to reach them. She unmuted her earpiece.

"We can't stay here." She said, then looked at Loki. "We need to get across the street."

Loki seemed to understand what she was insinuating immediately. He would have to use his magic to disguise them if they were to cross safely. With a nod, they were engulfed in a glow, and civilian clothes replaced their gear.

"Coming to you, Cap." Ciara said, then moved out from behind the cover of the alley and onto the sidewalk. Loki walked next to her as they approached the crosswalk.

_More movement. I see four. _Clint said.

"Hold my hand." Ciara mumbled.

Loki didn't falter at the order. He casually grabbed her hand and displayed a smile, clearly fake. Ciara's chest grew tight, but she smiled back.

_Be inconspicuous. _She thought. _Act natural._

The two began across the street, and Loki's hand felt ice cold in her grip.

"What's going on?" Ciara muttered, her mouth nearly unmoving.

_They're not moving. _Natasha said. _They're just standing there._

_Movement, northeast rooftop. _Steve said.

Ciara and Loki's feet hit the sidewalk, and she took a left turn, then a right down the alleyway next to Steve and Thor's building. They were back in their armour as soon as they were hidden from view.

_How many? _Clint said.

_Two. _Steve replied. _Standing on the corner. Stay low._

Ciara took deep breaths. Each rooftop on the corner of the intersection was occupied; Steve and Thor on the southeast, Clint and Natasha on the Northwest, and the Asgardians on the other two.

Ciara leaned against the wall of the building, examining the fire escape that led to Steve and Thor's roof.

_What's the plan here guys? _Natasha said.

"Thor, we're coming up to you guys." Ciara said, pulling herself on top of a garbage container and gesturing to Loki, and then the fire escape. She jumped and grabbed hold of the metal bars, pulling herself up until she stood on the grated platform. He followed suit, and they began upwards.

_Northeast rooftop, they're moving. I think they're going down. _Thor said.

_What about the four on southwest? _Clint asked.

_Still standing there. They're facing your building, Clint. _Steve replied.

Loki and Ciara reached the last platform, and he hoisted her up to the roof ledge. Without standing, she rolled over the edge, on to the roof. A couple of yards away Steve was crouched, just the top of his head peeking out. Thor was further down the roof, also crouched, and he gave Ciara a curt nod. Loki pulled himself over the ledge to meet her, and they began to make their way to Steve.

_Do they know we're here? _Clint said.

_They could have been expecting us. _Steve replied.

Ciara leaned against the barrier that ran around the edge of the roof, her eyes glued to the door that led up to it from the building.

The timing was almost impeccable.

The door burst open, and out came the two she guessed had just come from the Northeast.

"Behind us!" She shouted, firing off a couple rounds and diving behind a cement structure jutting out of the roof.

_On our way. _Natasha said, her voice full of breath as she and Clint lifted themselves over the ledge and dropped to the fire escape of their building.

Bullets peppered the structure Ciara was behind, and Loki looked to her from behind a mess of piping.

"Are they using guns?" She said.

Loki nodded, and Ciara edged out from behind her barrier to fire off shots until the magazine was empty. Thor and Steve were completely out of her sight.

_Crossing the street. _Natasha said.

_Thor and I have you covered. _Steve said.

Ciara took a breath and unsheathed two knives from their holsters, locking eyes with Loki. She mouthed the words: _On my count. _He nodded.

"_One…. Two…. Three_."

Ciara and Loki burst out from behind their covers, Loki taking lead, both of them zigzagging their routes as they advanced towards the attackers.

His daggers met their target almost immediately, and Ciara met hers with a tackle. It felt as though she was taking down a pillar. An elbow met her chin and Ciara felt her teeth bear down on her tongue, and the taste of iron filled her mouth. The two of them scrambled for a moment, Ciara slashing with a blade and catching flesh. This was met with a kick backwards, and it took a moment for both her and her attacker to rise to standing. The man that stood across from her was massive, clothed like a human, and he brandished a blade of his own. She advanced, deflecting a strike with one of her knives and jabbing with the other. She missed her target, and was knocked backwards by a blow to her chest, her weapons flying from her grip.

Once again Ciara stood, eyeing the hulking Asgardian coldly before she charged. He slashed and she ducked, stepping inside and landing an uppercut, followed by an array of punches that met their target with force. When she heard him drop, she drop-kicked the hand that held the knife and straddled his chest, landing blow after blow, until the figure beneath her was limp and her knuckles throbbed. Her ears rung as a hand pulled her back by the shoulder.

"Hey! Hey!" Clint's voice broke through her frenzy. "Get up, we've got company."

The four Asgardians from the other rooftop had joined them.

Clint grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up against the structure with the door that led down into the building.

"How many?" She said, catching her breath and spitting out the blood that had pooled in her mouth.

"Four down. Six to go." He said.

Ciara nodded and stood, reloading her handgun and peering out from behind the wall.

Steve was engaged with one of the Asgardians, and three more converged on Natasha and Loki, both of which brandishing handheld weapons; Loki with his daggers, Natasha with what looked to be a shock baton.

"Where's Thor?" Ciara said.

"Alley." Clint replied, as Natasha made contact with her baton and Loki plunged a dagger into the throat of the downed attacker. Another dove towards Natasha, knives in hand, and both Clint let an arrow loose, dropping him. The third fell when the Captain's shield made contact with his chest and Loki finished him off. The Asgardian that had been occupied with Steve lay on the ground in a similar fashion to the one Ciara had fought.

_Clear on the ground. _Thor's voice came through the earpiece.

"Barton!" Steve shouted, and Ciara had no time to react. An Asgardian had come from the building door behind them, gun in hand, aimed directly at Clint's back.

But the bullet didn't reach its target. Loki hurled himself forwards in between the attacker and Clint, grappling as they made contact. The trickster summoned a dagger in his hand and with one fell swoop buried it into the assassin's chest.

"Fuck." Ciara said, rushing to Loki's side as he slid off the body of his victim. "Are you hit?"

Loki raised his hand, and she could see where the bullet had hit. The back of his hand showed a perfect circle where the bullet should have hit, but the skin wasn't punctured. It looked like a bruise.

"You're bulletproof?" She said, pushing him on the chest as he stood up. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Not entirely." He said, but a small grin graced his features.

"Not even remotely funny."

"Save it." Steve said, looking directly at Loki and Ciara. Sirens sounded in the distance, growing closer with each passing second. "Head back to base with Thor. We'll handle this."

Ciara nodded and turned to Loki. "Let's go."

They traversed back down the fire escape, Thor waiting for them at the bottom. Two more of the assassins laid at his feet.

By the time the debrief was over, the sun had started to rise.

Loki and Ciara began the trek back to their respective rooms. His hand had become a shade of blue that looked unnatural, and Ciara's body felt like all of her energy was so devoted to healing itself, there was barely any left for walking.

When they finally reached the hallway outside of their rooms, her will ruptured and she enveloped him in an embrace.

"Ciara." Loki said.

He was taken aback by the closeness, clearly in the eye of the hallway cameras, but she didn't seem to care. He wrapped her arms around her, and they stayed like that.

It was only fair that at that moment the elevator doors would open, and out walked Barton. He froze at the sight of the two of them.

"Ciara." Loki whispered, and she removed her head from his shoulder, releasing him from her arms.

"Clint." She said, and her entire body stiffened.

Clint was quiet as he stood there. He seemed to ignore Ciara, his gaze completely fixated on Loki.

"I came to thank you." Clint said. He still wore his uniform, and his eyes looked sunken and tired. "For having my back tonight." Clint approached them and held out his hand.

Loki looked down at the hand quizzically before he turned to face the agent head on. He took the outstretched hand and they shook.

"I'll see you two later." Clint said, turning to leave.

Loki's brow furrowed. "Agent Barton." He said, and the Agent regarded him as he continued to speak. "Thank you."

Clint dipped his head slightly but didn't respond, leaving the two of them as he made his way back into the elevator and disappeared from sight.

"Fuck." Ciara said, letting her head drop back onto Loki's arm.

"Good fuck?" Loki answered.

Ciara just laughed, and shook her head. "Not sure yet."


	13. Emotional Ties

Sleep didn't come for hours after their arrival back at base.

The debrief had taken up a large chunk of time, what with the involvement of the NYPD and the discussion of what would be done with the two Asgardians that were still alive. SHIELD had a good amount of authority, but the NYPD did not fuck around.

Ciara woke fully expecting to be sore in all kinds of places, but as she began to stir, she felt surprisingly well. Her knuckles were bruised, but the super serum was likely all she had to thank for not coming out with broken hands. She did not want to imagine what hand-to-hand combat might have been like against one of the assassins without being enhanced herself. It was almost certain she wouldn't have walked away from that.

_10:33_

The watch on her wrist had not beeped, vibrated, disturbed her at all from the couple hours of rest. Loki and her had said their goodnights shortly after Barton's departure, and it was all she could do to undress, remove the prosthetic, drag herself into the shower, and positively collapse into bed afterwards… Only to lay awake for another solid hour.

Loki had occupied her mind as she eventually drifted off into sleep. The panic she had felt when he took the bullet for Clint, and the relief and irritation she had with him when he just smiled it off afterwards, like the combat that ensued was all a game to him.

Even the frenzy state that she had entered during the hand-to-hand with the Asgardian inhabited a spot in her thoughts. The way she felt his face collapse with every blow. It was unlike any kind of power she had felt before, but in that moment the animosity she felt had taken over. The aggression that overcame her… It was unnatural.

_Tony and Bruce are here, you good to meet at Command 11? _Natasha's text lit up her phone.

_Yeah. Bring Loki? _She sent back.

_Yup._

Ciara set her phone back down on the desk and began getting ready, dressing at sluggish speed as her hands ached a little with every movement. She guessed that the pain would likely be gone by later in the day, if not tomorrow.

But then there was the concern over what Barton had seen. Her and Loki, hugging, her absolutely encased by the trickster's arms. The agent hadn't reacted very much in the moment, but she couldn't even begin to wonder what his actual point of view was on the show of affection. The cat was out of the bag - her and Loki's closeness, that is - and there wasn't any going back. But it had to happen eventually, so it may as well have happened the night that Loki saved Clint's life.

Pulling her hair back in a bun, Ciara snatched her tag from the desk and made her way out into the hallway to Loki's door. She scanned it and didn't bother to knock, instead just stepping into the room.

"You awake?" She said.

Loki was laid flat on his back, his eyes shut. He was dressed in Midgardian attire similar to that of the prior morning, and his hair still looked short and groomed despite the fact that he was laying in bed. His eyes opened, and he turned his head to her.

"I am now."

"We have some business to attend to." She said, as he stood up from bed. "I want to go get coffee first."

Loki approached her and did not stop until he had her face in his hands, and a gentle kiss was planted on her forehead.

"Have you slept?" He asked.

Ciara snorted, but a small smile formed. "Do I look that bad?"

Loki mimicked her grin. "No worse than usual."

"I can work with that." Ciara shrugged and began out into the hallway, Loki trailing and shutting the door behind them. They took the elevator to the food hall, and stepped out into the busy room.

"How are your hands?" He asked, as they poured their coffee into travel cups.

Ciara made experimental fists, and her knuckles retaliated with a couple of pops. "Could be a lot worse." She said, and took a sip from her cup. "You?"

"Perfectly fine." Loki said, following her back to the elevator. When they stepped inside and the doors shut, she sighed deeply.

"Something the matter?" He asked.

"Last night, with Clint-"

"In the hallway." He cut her off. "I thought he might view that as an issue."

"But I don't know if it is one." She said, rubbing her face with one hand. "I really don't know."

"What is it you're unsure of?"

"Us." She said, looking to him. "Whatever this is."

Loki chuckled. "Why does it have to be something?"

"This is serious Loki."

"Is it?"

Ciara paused, and her lips pursed. "I don't know."

"There seems to be a lot you don't know." Loki said, then continued. "You shouldn't think so hard. You might hurt yourself."

"Is that how you handle your problems? Just ignore them?" She countered.

"So thisis a problem for you then?" Loki raised his eyebrows.

"No, no. This is fine. I just don't know if other people will share the same perspective."

"What does it matter if they do?" He asked, and the doors opened before them.

Ciara bit her lip and shook her head. "People are afraid of emotional ties around here."

The two of them stepped out and walked through the main room, into the space where the others would be waiting.

Thor was the first to acknowledge them with a curt wave, seated at the same table they had all met at the night prior. Natasha, Steve, and Clint occupied the other seats, with Bruce and Tony standing slightly off to the side. Fury and Hill weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Hey kid." Tony said. "Rough night?"

Ciara grinned and tipped her head. "I've had worse."

Tony eyed Loki for a moment. "I'm sure you have."

"It's good to see you again, Stark." Loki said dryly, as he rested an arm across the back of Ciara's shoulders. She didn't flinch, but bit her tongue at the gesture.

_God damn it. _She thought. _This is fucking bizarre. What are you doing? Fuck._

"Back from the grave I see." Tony said, his eyes unwavering as he watched Loki. "Don't push your luck."

"I would never." Loki replied.

Ciara decided it was a solid time to interject. "Where's Fury?"

"He'll be here soon." Natasha replied, her gaze skimming over Loki before it fell on Ciara. "We filled Tony and Bruce in on last night."

"Yeah." Tony said, and his expression softened as he looked at Ciara. "Sounds like you had a good time."

"You should see the other guy." Ciara said, taking a large gulp from the cup. The discomfort in the air was palpable. Clint was leaning back in his chair, and his eyes had been glued to the table since Loki and Ciara's arrival.

"Not sure I want to." Tony said.

"Was it decided what we're doing with the rest of the Asgardians?" Ciara asked.

"They're being transported to a different facility." Steve replied. "There's too much heat to keep them here."

"In what respect?" Ciara said.

"My father won't take lightly to what happened last night." Thor chimed in, and all eyes went to him. "When he hears the news of the survivors, he will send more men to retrieve them."

"Or he'll send more, for him." Tony said, pointing at Loki, but still looking at Thor.

"You speak like I'm not standing right here." Loki said.

"It would probably be better if you weren't." Tony replied.

Loki cocked his head, and dropped his arm from Ciara's shoulders. "It's my understanding that you need my help."

"_Need _is a strong word." Tony said, returning Loki's stare. "The only reason you aren't a mile under right now, is because of Ciara."

"I'm aware." Loki took a step towards Tony, and Tony took a step towards him. "Just as you are aware of the fact that I fought for your agency's cause last night."

"Your cause." Tony closed the distance, so that mere feet separated them. "This was all caused by _you._"

Loki's eyes narrowed. "If you think I came here by choice, you are desperately mistaken."

"Maybe you should go back then. Make all of our lives a hell of a lot easier."

"You _would _like that, wouldn't you Stark?" Loki smirked, but there wasn't a hint of amusement in the expression.

Quiet befell the room as the two men stared each other down, either one too stubborn to look away.

"Am I interrupting something, Gentlemen?" Fury's voice broke the silence as he entered, Hill following shortly afterwards.

"No. Just chatting." Tony said, taking a pause before he returned to where he stood with Bruce. Loki stepped back next to Ciara, and she brushed her hand against his. It was just subtle enough that it wouldn't be noticed by their peers, but she didn't know what else she could offer to calm him.

"Good." Fury glanced between Tony and Loki, whom the latter of which had taken to gazing directly at the ground. His focus looked distant, deep in thought. "As you all know, an op was carried out last night, and the Asgardians have been dealt with."

"Temporarily." Clint interjected.

"Which is why we're here." Fury looked between Thor and Loki. "I want to know what the next move will be. How _Dad_ back in Asgard is going to react to this."

"We took out his men once, he won't just send more in." Steve said, and then glanced to Thor. "Right?"

Thor nodded. "My father prefers not to seek out conflict, but Loki's sentence carries great weight with him. He isn't likely to stop until the situation is resolved."

"So, what, he shows up with an army next?" Steve asked, a little bit of sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Nor is he one for seeking out war." Thor answered.

"It didn't seem that way when his assassins were taking out our recon teams." Natasha said.

"Odin's men are fiercely loyal." Thor spoke defensively, rubbing the stubble on his chin with one hand. "But those we faced last night were not his crown operatives. I know what they are capable of, and it was not that."

"So what are you saying?" Bruce pressed.

"I am saying that I believe those who we fought last night were scouts of his own - _recon_, as you call it. My father does not know what he is up against, they were likely just here for information purposes." Thor said.

"They got pretty damn close to here, and took down plenty of our people for just a scouting mission." Steve said.

Thor looked at Steve. "I don't claim to know for certain what their orders were."

"So why don't we ask them?" Ciara said, and all eyes fell on her. "We have two of them, we might as well make use of them."

"Ask them and then what? Regardless of what their instructions were, we don't know what Odin's next move is, and I doubt he shared the extent of his plans with them." Bruce said.

"Some information is better than none. And it's sure as hell better than sitting here and speculating until more of them show up." Ciara replied.

"You want to powwow with the Asgardians? Ask them nicely what their orders were and hope that works? Thor already said they're incredibly devoted to their duties, I doubt it'll be that easy." Bruce said.

"Who said anything about asking nicely?" Ciara said, and she could feel the emotions bubbling up inside of her. It felt similar to the aggression, the animosity she had felt the night before when she took down the Asgardian. She had never been one to have a particularly short temper, ever, and the hostility she felt as of late was new - and offsetting.

"This is what we do, isn't it?" Ciara continued. "We're in the business of extracting information." She looked to Thor, and then to Loki. "And worst comes to worst, we have two people who know how they operate."

"I agree." Clint chimed in. "It's our best option right now."

"I think it's our only option right now." Ciara said.

Fury was motionless, his arms crossed, his eye fixated on Ciara. "And _if_ I authorize this, who do you propose to carry out these interrogations?"

"I think that's a decision better suited for you, Sir." She said.

Fury waited before he responded with a nod. "Then it's settled." He scanned the room one final time before he finished. "You're all dismissed."

No one objected, and the group began to disperse slowly. Natasha and Clint lingered to speak further with Fury, and Bruce and Banner took a separate exit from the one that led back to the main elevator. Ciara decided it was time for a coffee refill, so her and Loki began back the way they had come.

"That could have gone worse." She said as they walked side-by-side.

"_Emotional ties_." Loki said.

She frowned and glanced at him as the elevator doors shut. "What?"  
"Earlier, you spoke of a collective fear of emotional ties here." He replied, and met her gaze. "Care to elaborate?" He asked.

"Not particularly." She said.

"It was not so much of a question as it was a request."

"You want to know what I was referring to?"

"I thought my question made that much clear."

Ciara inhaled deeply through her nose and sighed, looking back to the closed doors. "I care about you, and you know that. And you said you care about me, but I don't know. And it's fucking with my emotions."

"Your emotions or your feelings?" Loki continued to press, despite the clear discomfort she exuded.

"You're a therapist now?" She asked.

Loki smirked and shook his head before he answered. "Not my forte. I'm just trying to better understand you."

"Understand me in what sense? If I have _feelings_ for you?"

"Do you?" Loki's expression went solemn. It was like she could see the gears spinning behind his eyes, the way he regarded her.

"Are you serious?" Ciara asked. When Loki, didn't reply, she nodded. "Yeah, I do. Is that what you want to hear?"

"It isn't a matter of what I want." He replied. "I just wonder how long you intend to keep up this... Performance, for your colleagues." Loki's jaw was clenched, and the seriousness in his tone was undoubtable. Every word he said leaked with truth - Ciara could sense that much. "I desire you for myself, Ciara. If that is too difficult of an idea for you to understand, tell me now, and this will go no further."

Loki continued to speak. "You are uncomfortable when I touch you, even speak to you in front of your acquaintances."

"Because I'm scared." She blurted, and the doors opened simultaneously with her words.

"Perhaps I've made a mistake then." Loki replied, and he began out onto the cafeteria floor.

"Hey, hey, no." She jogged to keep up with him, reaching out and gripping him by the elbow. "I'm sorry." She said.

Loki turned to face her, and she could see the distress in his eyes alone. Ciara continued to speak. "I _want _this. So badly. I mean it." She straightened up, and she could feel the eyes of the room roaming to fall on them. "No more performances. I want this."

"You're certain?" Loki asked.

Ciara nodded. "I'm positive."

Loki was bearing his heart to this woman.

And he meant every word he said.

Her character, her person, the way she acted around others, around him, the way she spoke and walked and looked and presented herself was intoxicating to him. Seeing her in the midst of battle had secured that line of thinking - that she was the one whom which would make the trickster feel no need to put up a front for. And then, she confirmed that she was his, and there would be no more false facades. It wasn't relief that he felt, but the dissolving of an invisible tension between them.

"Alright then." Loki motioned to the table on the far side of the room, the one that the coffee resided upon. "After you, my lady."

Loki wasn't one to gravitate towards weak people. In fact, he had spent most of his life distancing himself from people who he viewed as inferior. But Ciara could hold her own, physically and mentally, and it further solidified his feelings towards her. He felt grounded in her presence. And if not for her companionship, he might have just handed himself over to the Asgardians the moment an opportunity was given.

"I'm sorry about Tony, by the way." Ciara said, as she refilled her cup.

"His anger is justified." Loki replied, seemingly unbothered.

Ciara selected a table removed from the cluster of SHIELD agents that occupied the lunchroom, and they sat.

"You wouldn't actually just hand yourself over, right? That was just a bluff?" She said.

Loki leaned back in his chair and looked at her, his head tipped slightly downwards. "I have considered it."  
"You have a death wish or something?"

"I don't fear death." Loki took a sip of his coffee and grinned, raising his eyebrows. "Death fears me."

"That's an optimistic way of looking at it." Ciara said, as her phone vibrated.

_You busy right now? _Natasha's message read.

_No, what's up?_

_Medical wants to see you. Can you head there now?_

_Do you know what it's about?_

_No, Fury just told me to let you know._

Ciara's brow furrowed. _Yeah, no problem. I'll head over now. _She slipped her phone back in her pocket.

"I don't suppose I get to know what that was about?" Loki asked.

"Medical needs to see me. Not sure what about."

The two of them stood and made their way over to the elevator. The medical ward was underground, and it only took a minute before the doors reopened and they started out onto the floor.

"Are all of SHIELD's bases this extensive?" Loki asked.

"No, this is one of the main headquarters."

"And you live here?"

Ciara shrugged, approaching the central desk. "I live wherever they tell me to. You forfeit a lot of autonomy when you work here." She regarded the agent behind the desk. "I was told to come here?"

"Name?" The agent said.

"Ciara Volkov."

"Room 12. Doctor Asad will be in to see you shortly." He gestured down a hallway to their rear.

"Thanks." Ciara said, and they headed off towards the room.

Inside, it looked more akin to an examination room than the one her and Loki had occupied together. Ciara sat down on the edge of the bed, and Loki leaned against the wall next to the foot of it, crossing his arms and surveying the room.

"What do you think of the whole situation?" She said, looking at Loki. "With the Asgardians."

"I think Odin's pride is going to get a lot of people killed." He shrugged. "As it always has."

"Our people or his?" She asked.

"That depends on how much my death means to him."

A doctor stepped through the door, an adult woman, dark skin with her hair pulled back in a taut ponytail. She briefly glanced at Loki, then to her clipboard.

"Agent Volkov?" She said.

Ciara nodded. "That's me."

The doctor sat down at the desk adjacent to the bed and began typing something into the computer, occasionally glancing at her clipboard.

"Do I get to know why I'm here?" Ciara asked.

The doctor's attention snapped to her. "A scheduled check-up."

"In regards to?"

"The serum." The doctor replied. "I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. Answer as honestly as you can." She glanced at Loki. "Do you want him in here?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Ciara said.

The doctor nodded and began reading off of her clipboard. "How have you been sleeping?"

"Not great."

"How many hours per night, approximately?"

"It varies, it's really sporadic."

"Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep?"

"Falling asleep."

She typed something into the computer. "How has your appetite been?"

"Same as its always been. Maybe a little less hungry."

"And your mood?"

Ciara took a couple moments before she answered. "Shorter temper than usual."

"Overall or just in response to certain situations?"

"Overall, but also in response."

"And this is new?"

"Yes."

"Have you been feeling more aggressive?"

"Yes."

The doctor nodded and continued to type something. "Would you say your mood has been swinging? Or just more aggressive in general?"

"In general."

"And how has the body been?"

"Fine, no complaints."

"And your leg?"

"A little bit of phantom pain, just an aching once in a while. Nothing really extreme."

"Alright, can you lie down and take the prosthetic off for me?"

Ciara obliged, taking the remote from her pocket and hitting the button that removed it. She laid down on the bed and Loki took a couple of steps back while the doctor began to look over the residual limb.

"Looks like it healed really well." The doctor said, then motioned upwards. "You can sit up now. I'm just going to take your vitals."

Ciara did so, and waited as the doctor took her blood pressure and heart rate, checked her eyes and ears, periodically making notes back in the computer.

"Alright. You're all good." She picked up her clipboard and wrote something down, then tearing it off and handing it to Ciara.

"What's this?" Ciara asked.

"A prescription for something that should help you sleep. If it gets any worse, come back and we'll reevaluate."

"And what about the aggression?"

"Just keep an eye on it. It hasn't manifested as an issue yet, I assume." The doctor nodded and turned to leave. As she reached the door, Ciara spoke again.

"One more question."

"Yes?"

"SHIELD says they were able to track and monitor me, because of the serum. Why is that?"

The doctor hesitated before she responded. "It's built into the formula. We're able to take feedback from the serum itself on what's going on in your body."

"I don't understand." Ciara said.

The doctor bit her lip, then brought the clipboard down to her side. "Think of it like AI. The serum itself collects and stores data, processing and deciding what to do with it. We're able to read that data in reports."

"AI as in Artificial Intelligence… The serum, what, thinks?"

"It's able to read data from your body and perform tasks at an accelerated pace. On our end, we can request reports of that data."

_That clears things up. _Ciara thought sarcastically.

"Okay. Thank you, Doctor." She said.

The doctor nodded and departed, leaving Loki and Ciara to process whatever had just been said.

"That was confusing." Ciara said, once the doctor was safely out of earshot.

"You were provided with the same… Enhancement, as the Captain?" Loki asked.

"Fury said it was an updated version. Something SHIELD has been working on for a while."

"I see." Loki said, then glanced at her prescription, eyebrows raised. "I don't suppose you will be getting that filled?"

"I don't need any more drugs from SHIELD right now." Ciara made a show of tearing the paper in half, and tossing it in a garbage can in the hallway as they made their way back to the elevator.

Ciara's phone vibrated as the doors shut before them, and she read Thor's message.

_Are you available to meet?_

_Of course - when and where?_

_Ground floor, now._

_On our way. _She texted back, placing her phone back in her pocket.

"Thor wants to meet." She said, then hit the button on the elevator and felt it lurch into motion. "I think he wants to go off base."

Loki looked puzzled. "Do you speak to Thor regularly?"

"Not really." Ciara bit her lip to keep from grinning. "Are you jealous?"

"Ciara - Darling." Loki turned his head so he good look at her, smirking. "I stopped being jealous of Thor a very long time ago."

_A lie. _Ciara thought.

"He's not my type anyways." She replied.

Loki cocked his head, still smirking. "You have an interesting taste in partners."

"I like to keep things exciting."

"A product of your childhood perhaps?" Loki teased. "Circus performer turned super soldier. An exhilarating story, isn't it?"

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." She said.

"You _are_ clever, aren't you?" Loki replied, and his eyes scanned over her.

Ciara snorted and nodded. "Not my words originally, but thank you."

The doors slid open and they stepped out, surveying the room for Thor's unmistakable appearance. Loki spotted him first, thanks to a substantial height advantage.

"I see him." He said.

"I'll follow you." Ciara replied, and they crossed the floor to where Thor stood, just before the barricade of security one had to go through upon exit and entry.

"Hey." She said, as they reached him.

"I apologize for the lack of notice." Thor replied. "I was hoping we could speak outside of this base."

Ciara glanced at Loki, then back to Thor. "I don't think it should be an issue at this point."

"Alright." Thor tipped his head. "I will talk more when we get there."


	14. The Norseman

"I said, he's with _me._" Ciara spoke through grit teeth. Getting Loki through exit security proved significantly more difficult than she had expected. "Call Command. Ask for Hill, ask for Fury, I don't care. See if they appreciate you wasting _their _fucking time with this bullshit too."

The security officer shifted in his seat, his eyes darting between Ciara and Loki. Thor waited for them outside, and through the glass doors he could see that the pair had garnered the attention of many of the officers and personnel, all curious to see what the fuss was about.

"I'm on orders from my supervisor to only let staff with their tags-"

"Your supervisor?" Ciara interrupted the officer, and snorted. "I _outrank_ your supervisor. Let us through, or I'll call Fury myself, and you can talk to him instead. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

Ciara glared down the officer, her eyebrows raised.

"Fine. Go through." The officer said, waving them by. "Just this time though - get him a tag."

Ciara didn't bother to respond, instead just striding through the security gates and out the revolving doors, Loki in close pursuit.

"What was that about?" Thor asked, as they joined him outside.

"Apparently Loki is mission ready, but not allowed to see the light of day without an ID tag." Ciara said.

"I'm sure getting back in will be fun too." Loki said, then grinned at Ciara. "Not to say that was not amusing."

A small smile formed on Ciara's face at Loki's words, and she felt herself beginning to calm again.

"You are an excellent match for one another." Thor said, and they both immediately looked to him. "Just my honest opinion."

"So, where are we headed?" Ciara said, changing the subject.

"A place where we may talk freely." Thor grinned. "Follow me."

They began down the street, and Ciara felt dwarfed as she walked in between them. It was late afternoon, and the city was alive with people and cars. No doubt Loki's earthly appearance was a solid improvement as far as discreteness went, but she could still note just how many people looked their way as they walked - most of whom were women, absolutely ogling the norse gods to her left and right. Ciara gripped Loki's hand without warning, potentially squeezing a little tighter than she should have.

_Feeling a little jealous? _Loki's voice was teasing as it intruded on her thoughts, and she withheld a snort.

The walk was silent, and only lasted a couple of minutes. When they reached their destination, Thor stepped in front of the two of them, a smile plastered across his face.

"This is it." He said.

Loki and Ciara looked at the business they had stopped in front of - a pub. The letters on the sign were in medieval-like font, and they read _The Norseman._

"Looks like fun." Ciara said, stifling a laugh. Loki had let go of her hand and was rubbing his face with both hands.

"Have a sense of enjoyment brother." Thor teased.

When they stepped inside, a wall of sound hit them. Voices, laughter, unnecessarily loud volume from the TVs, music that sounded like a remix of something vikings had written. It was the perfect place to speak without fear of being overheard.

"Three?" A woman approached the hostess stand, blonde and busty and smiling widely.

"Yes please." Thor said.

She grabbed three menus from beneath her stand and began wading between the tables and the people who remained standing. Thor took the lead, with Loki right behind him and Ciara at the rear, until they reached a booth.

"Is this alright?" The hostess said.

"Perfect." Thor replied, and flashed her a smile as he slid onto the bench. Ciara and Loki slid into the other side, and Loki laid an arm across Ciara's shoulders, pulling her a little closer.

"A server will be right with you." The hostess said, staring directly at Thor.

"Thank you." Ciara said, and the woman left them.

The booth provided some kind of shelter from the noise, so that they could hear one another but it was almost impossible for anyone else to even be able to catch a word.

"How did you find this place?" Ciara asked.

"I like to take walks whenever I can." Thor replied, as Loki perused the menu with one hand next to her. "You like it?"

"It's cool." She said, then continued. "So why are we here?"

Thor nodded and leaned forward in the booth, resting his elbows on the table. "I have a plan. I believe it may be a remedy for our current situation."

"What kind of plan?" Loki asked, shifting his focus from the menu to Thor.

"I want to go back to Asgard." Thor replied, clasping his hands together. "To speak to Father, and see it through that this does not go any further than it already has."

"And you think Father will be waiting for you with open arms? After your hand in my escape?" Loki snorted, and shook his head. "If you go there, you will not be permitted to return here. You do realize that? And even then, it's highly doubtful you will be able to resolve anything."

"Loki I must stop this before it gets out of hand. If Father will not halt what he has set in motion entirely, then maybe I can at least force him to listen to some reason." Thor's eyes flickered to Ciara momentarily. "And try to explain to him that you have changed."

"Why are you telling us this?" Ciara asked. "Where do we come in?"

Thor leaned back in the booth. "I will need your help specifically, Lady Ciara."

Loki's expression went sour, but as he opened his mouth to retort the waitress arrived, and began placing water on the table.

"Hi! My name is Teresa, I'll be taking care of you today." She said cheerily. "Can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Three boilermakers, please." Thor said, forcing a smile.

"Comin' right up." The waitress replied, then departed.

The moment she left, Loki spoke up. "What kind of help?"

"I will need a cover for my disappearance." Thor said, looking at Ciara. "Your colleagues trust you, so I will need you to relay a story to them. A reason for my absence."

"What will that be?" Ciara asked, taking a sip from her water. "Why can't you just go to Fury with this? Tell him what you're doing?"

"Because this is not a SHIELD operation. This must be entirely between my Father and I, or I fear he will not listen."

"He won't listen regardless." Loki said. "Father ordered for my death. And there is nothing that Father loathes so deeply as his commands not being seen through with. This is a futile effort."

"Brother, I know you have no faith left in Father, but you must trust me." Thor argued, his tone stern. "Just as I have trusted you."

"And I suppose you believe Heimdall will also be welcoming you back with wide arms and an open heart." Loki said sarcastically. He laughed and shook his head before he continued. "For your sake, Thor, I hope that I am wrong."

"What if Fury selects you as one of the interrogators?" Ciara said, interrupting the sibling quarreling.

"The reason for my absence must be something that puts me completely out of touch." Thor replied. The waitress came by with a tray of beers, each with an accompanying shot, and placed them down in front of each of them.

"Are we ordering food as well?" The waitress asked.

"No, this is perfect. Thanks." Ciara said, waiting for her to depart before she looked back to Thor. "I think we should tell him the truth, but only after you've left, so you can't be interfered with. SHIELD has ways of finding out what they need to know, one way or another. It's just too risky to come up with something - _someone_ will smell something funny and then we'll all be fucked." She said.

Thor nodded, and lifted his shot. "When the time comes Lady Ciara, I trust you will make the right decision." Ciara and Loki followed suit, clinking their glasses and downing the shots, chasing the whiskey with the beer. "And you as well, Loki." Thor added.

"When are you leaving?" Ciara asked.

"Tomorrow." Thor replied.

"And if this…. Heimdall, doesn't welcome you, what then?" She said.

"Heimdall is loyal to my Father, but first and foremost he is dedicated to maintaining the balance between our worlds. If he sees my return for it's peacemaking intention, I will have safe passage."

"And if not, you will be imprisoned or killed." Loki pointed out.

Thor took a couple of large gulps from his beer. "Yes, something like that, I suppose."

"It sounds foolproof, truly." Loki said, teasing, and Ciara dug an elbow in his ribs.

"We'll have your back on this end." Ciara said.

Thor nodded. "Thank you again, Lady Ciara. I will be out of touch for a while, but when I return I will undoubtedly owe you for this."

"You're the one taking all the risk." Ciara said. "Just come back in one piece, okay?"

"I will do my very best." Thor nodded and raised his glass, polishing it off without so much as a breath of air. "Shall we have another?" He said.

"Sounds good to me." Ciara replied, peering at Loki over her glass as she followed suit and finished the remainder of her drink. He watched her with gleaming eyes, shaking his head and letting out a chuckle.

"Why not?" Loki said, the final one to drain his glass.

It was a couple hours, several litres of beer, and various shots later that Ciara realized the serum could only keep her from getting drunk for so long. And at the rate they were consuming alcohol, her body was having trouble keeping up. Even Thor and Loki had started to speak more carefreely, and Loki's hand traversed her leg as he spoke.

"I do not understand why my life means so much to Odin." Loki mused, examining his glass in his unoccupied hand. "I was dead to him _ages _ago. It's rather childish, at this point. Where was all of this personal interest when I was _dangling_ off the edge of the Bifrost?"

Ciara bit her lip to keep from laughing - the subject itself wasn't particularly funny, but seeing Loki let loose a little was.

The fact that they were three… talented drinkers, feeding off of one another, should have been a recipe for disaster. But the vibe in the pub was overwhelmingly positive. And not being in the eyes of SHIELD came over as such as relief, that Ciara could feel her stresses melting way momentarily.

"This is great." Ciara said, leaning into Loki's arm. "Where should we go next?"

"Next?" Loki asked, his eyebrows raising. "I did not realize there would be a next."

"Of course there will be!" Thor said enthusiastically, pulling a couple bills from his pocket and smacking them on the table with tenacity. "Some fresh air will liven you right back up, brother." Thor said, then stood, while Ciara and Loki shared a glance, as if to say _Oh no._

"We'll meet you outside." Ciara said, smiling.

Thor grinned and nodded. "Don't take too long." He said.

Once he was safely out of hearing range, Ciara turned to Loki. "How are you holding up?"

"Quite alright." Loki replied, holding a hand on the back of her head and pulling her in for a forehead kiss. "And you?"

"Fantastic." Ciara said, sliding out of the booth and pulling Loki along with her by the hand. "Your brother can drink."

Loki snorted and nodded. "One of Thor's many talents."

"Are you having a good time?" She asked.

Loki took a moment to ponder what his answer may be, before he responded. "It's a welcome change, not being confined to a SHIELD base." They started walking towards the exit. "I enjoy spending time with you, Ciara."

"The feeling is mutual." Ciara said, grinning and gripping his hand tightly as they navigated their way out the door. "Where to?" She said, joining Thor on the sidewalk.

"Not sure yet." Thor answered.

Evening was rolling in, and the streets remained just as busy if not busier than when they had first arrived.

"I know a place." Ciara said, looking between the two brothers. "It's a different scene though."

"Lead the way." Thor replied, evidently excited and unbothered by whatever the outcome of her decision may be.

The trio began walking down the sidewalk, Ciara once again falling into place in the middle. The women who eyed the two Asgardians were dressed a little bit more scantily clad, no doubt on their way to similar venues as the one Ciara had in mind. It was a nightclub a couple blocks from The Norseman, one she had frequented, especially in her early years with SHIELD. They weren't exactly dressed for the occasion, but she wasn't of the right mind to care.

"Are you from New York, Ciara?" Thor asked.

"As in was I born here? No. I was born in Moscow, but my family moved to America before I was old enough to speak." She replied.

"So you grew up here then?" He continued.

Ciara shook her head and shrugged. "Kind of grew up all over, but we had a house in Vermont for whenever we weren't travelling."

"How did you end up with SHIELD?" Thor said, before adding. "If you don't mind my asking, of course."

"Agent Barton." She said. "We met through work, before either of us were with the agency. He left for a while, and when he came back, he kind of took me away from the scene I was involved in. And I've been with SHIELD ever since."

"Do you enjoy it?"

"I do." Ciara chuckled and shrugged. "Don't really know what I would be doing without it at this point, to be completely honest."

"You are a woman of many talents. I'm sure you would fare well in any endeavor of your choosing." Thor said, smiling.

Ciara grinned back. "But how many other options are there that I get to hang out with a couple of Norse gods?"

"Presumably none. But all of them much safer." Loki said, then added. "But I don't take you as someone who enjoys safety."

"I don't think I would be falling in love with you, Loki, if I enjoyed safety." Ciara said, and immediately her throat felt choked.

_Did I just say that?_

_It's the alcohol, it's just the alcohol._

_No it's not, you're already sobering up, thanks to the serum. Don't lie to yourself._

_Well, maybe lie to yourself. Look who you just said that to._

Her mind raced as Loki and Thor were quiet.

"I'm flattered." Loki said, finally. He smirked and lifted her hand to his lips. "Don't worry darling, I won't hold that against you."

_That's really comforting. _She thought.

"Thanks." Ciara croaked, then pointed up ahead to a lineup of people, cascading out along the block. Music could be heard from the building they stood in front of, the bass heavy and thumping with every beat of her heart. "That's the place."

"Looks… Lively." Loki remarked as they took their place in the back of the line.

The red that her face had flushed was just starting to dissipate when Thor nudged her.

"I apologize for my brother, he has never been the best in terms of expressing his feelings." Thor said, comfortingly but also meant to be a tease directed towards Loki. "Isn't that right Loki?"

"If my memory serves me correctly, my relationship is faring significantly better than yours right now." Loki said in response. "What was her name? Jane, was it?"

"Jane and I are taking a break. It was a mutual decision." Thor said.

"Ah, that's right. My apologies." Loki replied, shooting Ciara a sly grin. Her face flushed again and she shook her head.

"Time for another drink." She said.

"I concur." Thor said, peering out so he could get a good view of how many people remained in front of them. "The line appears to be moving quickly."

"At least there's that." Ciara said, her mind still reeling.

_Falling in love with you, Loki. _Her words replayed in her head, again and again. And again and again. No matter how many times she went over them, she came to the same conclusion; she was not falling in love with Loki, she had _fallen_ in love with him.

The way that he spoke to her around others, as if no one else was present. The look in his eyes when he regarded her, his touch that made her feel safe even though he was quite possibly one of the most dangerous beings to ever step foot on the earth. Loki was inexplicably mesmerizing, and intelligent, cunning, calculating, charming, handsome, kind - to her. Ciara looked at him and she viewed someone she could envision herself being around, no matter the situation they were in.

_I love you. _She thought.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked, abruptly ripping her from whatever stupor she had entered while she had her own little epiphany.

"Yeah." Ciara answered, nodding. "I'm good." She could tell he wasn't convinced - if anything, the way he looked at her seemed confused, as if he had more questions. "Just excited to get in." She added.

"How many?" The security guard had started moving down the line, and he was looking directly at the three of them.

"Three." Ciara answered.

"Alright, ID?" The guard held out his hand.

Ciara retrieved her wallet from her pocket and presented her driver's license.

"You're good. Go ahead." He said.

Ciara stifled the urge to say _What about them? _She was fully aware she appeared to be - and was - the youngest of the group.

"Thanks." She said, and the trio bypassed a large group, into the doors of the club.

What was left of the daylight was immediately cut out, and replaced by a rainbow of strobe lights. The floor was an absolute mass of gyrating bodies, and Loki and Thor stopped dead in their tracks next to her. The music blared, and almost immediately a stray dancer just about smashed into Thor, whom which gently pushed her away.

"This is certainly a different scene." Thor had to yell in order for Ciara to hear him, and he smiled. "I like it."

"I'm glad!" Ciara said, then pointed towards the bar on the far side of the room. "Drinks?"

"Please." Loki said, loudly in her ear.

They made their way across the floor in single file, with Ciara leading the charge.

"Long time no see!" The bartender behind the counter was a man, matching Ciara's companions in height, with a clean shaven face and cropped brunette hair.

"No shit, Jake." Ciara said in return, grinning. "Can I get three double shots of Jameson?"

The bartender nodded in return, pouring the drinks and sliding them across the table. Ciara slid one each towards Thor and Loki, who picked them up and then looked to her for further instruction.

"Cheers." She said.

The three of them clinked glasses and downed the liquor. Ciara made a sour face, whilst Loki looked disappointed, and Thor looked elated.

"How much do I owe you?" Ciara asked the bartender. He made a waving motion and shook his head.

"On the house!"

"Fuck, thanks man." She said.

"Don't mention it." The bartender said, leaning across the bar so he was inches from Ciara. "Who're the henchmen?" He said, gesturing to Thor and Loki, who stood a couple feet from then and appeared to be surveying the room.

"Boyfriend." She said, motioning to Loki. "Boyfriend's brother." She pointed to Thor.

"Got it. Well let me know if you need anything." The bartender replied.

"Thanks Jake." Ciara said, moving back to rejoin Thor and Loki.

"What do you think?" She said.

"This is your place of choice?" Loki asked, looking mildly concerned.

"Yeah. Kind of. Was. Still is." She said, absolutely stumbling over her words.

Loki glanced to Ciara, and based on what she could make out, he was frowning. "You surround yourself with chaos." He said.

Ciara raised to her toes and planted a kiss on Loki's cheek, moving to his ear to respond. "I thought that much was clear."

Loki smirked and leaned in to respond. "Is that why you professed your love for me? Because you seek chaos?"

Ciara leaned back, turning towards the bartender. "Can I get another round Jake? Just two this time." She pulled a twenty from her wallet and slid it across the counter.

"You got it." Jake replied, pouring the shots and gliding them across the bar. Ciara took hers without waiting for Loki, but he was quick to follow. Thor had left them, potentially off on the dance floor somewhere.

"I love you." Ciara said, inclining so her lips were inches from Loki's ear. "Whether you feel the same way or not, it doesn't matter."

"You are drunk." Loki responded, his brows furrowed.

"A little." She said, admittedly. "But I mean it."

"More than a little, I think." Loki said, smirking. "But I believe you."

Ciara bit her lip, debating whether another shot was in order, but eventually deciding against it. "And what do you think about that?" She said.

Loki pursed his lips and his eyes searched her - they were hungry, gleaming, and the strobe lights made his features look especially sharp. "I have not decided yet."

Ciara nodded, and her expression went serious. "Let me know when you do." And then she drifted off into the crowd.

Loki stood at the bar for some time.

Ciara professing her feelings for him had been both expected and unexpected at the same time. Loki wasn't sure how to handle what had been said to him - Ciara had been reserved up until that point, so he wasn't sure what was appropriate to say. But seeing as she had just been absolutely outright with her feelings, it was then up to him to respond however he felt appropriate.

Did he love her?

Did he love her in the same way that she loved him?

A multitude of questions flooded his thoughts as he watched her disappear into the mass of bodies that occupied the floor. The fact that the club was full was almost already an indication of what kind of person Ciara associated with - every person who occupied the dark room was there, in the early evening, intoxicated, and Ciara fit right in as though she had barely been absent.

Where this should have been a red flag, Loki restrained himself from applying judgment, instead attempting to see things from Ciara's point of view.

She was still very young, and clearly her life was in a point of transition. And she was undoubtedly what could be described as a free spirit - never mind the stressors that the line of work she had chosen placed upon her. This place that she had brought him and Thor to almost perfectly aligned with what he expected of her - that is, it was free of judgment, and everyone in attendance seemed to be there for one reason; to immerse themselves in something other than their own lives. It was a custom unfamiliar to Loki, but one that he could understand.

"You're the boyfriend?" A voice from behind him stirred him from his thoughts, and Loki turned to address him.

"The boyfriend?" Loki replied, his eyes narrowing as he viewed the man on the opposite side of the bar. "I assume you are a friend of Ciara's?" He said.

"Jake." The bartender extended his hand over the counter, and Loki shook it. "Ciara said you two are together."

Loki raised his eyebrows, but nodded. "Correct."

"How long have you guys been together?" Jake asked.

"Do you not have better things to attend to?" Loki replied, restraining himself from speaking further.

Jake gave the bar counter a quick scan, then shrugged. "No." He rested his elbows on the counter and leaned towards Loki. "So? How long?"

"A couple weeks." Loki said, dryly.

Jake nodded. "She's good shit." He said.

Loki snorted and turned back towards the dance floor, scanning until his eyes fell on Ciara, whom which had incorporated herself into a group, and was yell-talking with them.

"How did you guys meet?" Jake pressed, leaning on his elbows and staring at Loki attentively.

Loki sighed deeply and urged himself to remain calm, his eyes glued to Ciara as she moved around the floor. "We work in the same field." He said.

"You must have made an impression." Jake said, then continued. "In all the years she's been coming here, she's never referred to any guys as that." Loki looked to Jake for clarification, and he provided that. "Her boyfriend, I mean."

Loki seemed unphased. "But there have been others?"

Jake shrugged and began pulling glasses from a dishwasher to his left, drying them with a cloth on his hip. "Sure. More so when she was younger. She's been a regular here for years."

_Clinging to whatever pieces of normal life she has left. _Loki thought.

The thought of Ciara at the club, in the company of other men, was less so a disturbing one and more of a gentle reminder that she was, in fact, still human.

"You were one of them, I assume." Loki said, not able to help himself from divulging any longer. He had seen the way Jake viewed Ciara, and the way the bartender spoke to him then - trying so hard to appear nonchalant, but clearly invested in Loki's answers.

"Something like that." Jake said, and his head dipped downwards as he set the pint glass in his hands down. "Let me know if you need anything else, alright man?" He said, then walked away down the length of the bar.

Their conversation clearly concluded, Loki pressed off the bar and started moving out onto the floor towards Ciara. He could just barely see the back of her head, her hair seemingly white under the lights of the club.

And then he couldn't.

Ciara was jerked from his view, and Loki paused in his steps, his vision darting left and right as he waited for her to pop up again through the crowd. But there was nothing, not for seconds, as Loki started weaving through the mass of people again.

_Ciara, where are you? _He willed his voice to find her, but his words didn't find their mark.

"Brother!" Thor came from his left. "Where is Lady Ciara?"

Loki's eyes shot to Thor, and immediately it could be discerned that something was wrong. "I can't find her."

Ciara's vision was black. She twisted and attempted to thrash out, but her arms felt restrained, along with some kind of muzzle keeping her from making any semblance of a sound. The bass faded as she was forcefully pulled along. Her shin nailed a step and she ground her teeth as many more followed, her feet dragging as she tried to regain her bearings.

Cool, fresh air hit her and a door slammed shut to her rear. She could hear muffled voices to her left and right, but could discern no words or who they might belong to.

And then it felt as though they were caught in a whirlwind. Ciara's stomach lurched as her knees buckled, and the world went truly black.


	15. Get Help

**We finally got an L word! It only seemed fitting that some shit should go down immediately afterwards haha. Thank you all so much for reading and if you've got the time, leave a review and let me know your thoughts. (:**

**Enjoy!**

"Around 6:00 last night NYPD were called to a popular Hell's Kitchen club known as _Junction_,after some kind of solar disturbance rocked the building. Statements have not been released by authorities just yet, but there is widespread speculation the anomaly happened in relation to the attacks on New York six months ago today."

"The club was evacuated following the incident, and so far there have been zero reports of injury in relation to the event."

Loki watched the television in silence, but his insides felt coiled up, twisting and burning and leaving him paralyzed where he stood.

"So let me get this straight." Clint said, stood a couple feet from Loki. "They just showed up and… _Took her? _Back to Asgard?"

"That is the most likely scenario, yes." Thor said, his arms folded across his chest as he sat.

"Why? What interest could they possibly have in her?" Tony said, gritting his teeth. "She's just a kid."

"To get to me." Loki said. His expression was solemn, his body rigged and jaw clenched. "Odin expects me to retaliate."

"Expects _us _to retaliate." Clint said.

"It is not you that Odin wants dead." Loki replied.

"How did he know about her? About you two?" Natasha asked. "Unless there were more Asgardians we didn't know about."

"And the group we took down was just a ploy." Steve chimed in, sighing deeply through his nose. "A test, to see what he's up against."

"None of that matters now. He has Ciara. And we... Have no way of reaching her." Clint turned towards Loki as he spoke. "Do you understand now? You get it? Why you were supposed to stay away from her?"

Loki steeled himself, glaring directly at Clint. "Would you like for me to tell you that you were correct?" He scanned the room, eyeing each member of the team. "I care about Ciara more than _any _of you." He spat the words, seething.

Clint stepped closer to Loki. "Is that why you let them take her?" His voice was raised, and he lifted both of his hands, roughly shoving Loki by the chest. "She's going to be killed because of you!" He shouted.

Loki stumbled backwards, breathing heavily through his nose, his lips pressed in a thin line. The others watched in silence.

"Odin will not touch her." Loki said, quietly, urging himself to remain calm.

Clint snorted and shook his head. "What makes you so sure of that?"

"Because I am going to go to Asgard." Loki replied. "And I am going to end this."

"Brother." Thor said, rising from his seat at the Command table.

Loki's head dropped, and his fists balled up. "I am not your brother." He turned his head, looking to Thor. "It's best you stop playing as if I am."

"Odin will have you killed." Thor urged, and the pain in his voice was audible.

"Tell me Thor, what is it that I have left to live for?" Loki turned his gaze to Clint. "I will not allow Ciara to die for my mistakes."

"There has to be another way." Natasha said.

Steve stepped towards Clint and Loki. "Natasha is right. No one else needs to die." He regarded Loki and nodded. "At least no one on our end."

"This does not concern you." Loki said.

"No. This concerns all of us." Natasha replied, then continued. "Besides, Ciara won't just let you trade your life for hers. That's not how she operates - or any of us, for that matter."

"Romanoff is right." Tony said. "You're not doing this alone." He took a deep breath. "But don't think for one second this is a favor, or that you're suddenly a trusted member of the team. We're doing this for Ciara."

"I do not need your trust to do this. Ciara's is enough." Loki answered. "And even if you do mean your words, no more than me will be allowed into Asgard."

"Loki." Thor said, his voice confident. "I have a plan."

Loki couldn't help but smirk, as he shook his head. "I'm not doing get help."

/

Ciara was scared.

The place that she found herself in was cold, and the golden glow that made the aspects of the room visible came from the very walls of the cage that held her. They seemed to be made of light, transparent as if they were glass but not something that one should touch. The room itself was stone, and the enclosure was centered, only a doorway on one of the four walls signifying that the room did in fact have an exit.

She sat on the floor in the centre of the cage, and the walls of it extended out about four feet outwards in all directions.

Despite the ominous surroundings, fear was something she had been taught to harness, just like pain, to turn into a very focused form of rage. That was how one was supposed to act under pressure; emotions turned to aggression, but never losing one's composure in the process. It was hard, in the current situation, for Ciara not to lose her composure.

Because she had a solid guess as to who her captors were. The strength with which they had restrained her every effort to struggle further supported her hypothesis; Asgardians.

And wherever they had taken her to… The cage was unlike anything she had seen on Earth - not to mention the memory of the whirlwind that encapsulated her before her world went dark. It had felt like she was flying.

_Asgard._

She couldn't figure out as to why they had taken her. Why not just take Loki?

He was stronger than her, faster, he may have been able to evade capture.

So why her then?

Unless they planned to use her as bait - but that would mean that they somehow knew of her and Loki's closeness.

The door opened, protruding out of the gap in the stone on the wall. Ciara shot to her feet to greet the visitor.

"No need to get up." The man said. He entered the room flanked by two others, clad in shining gold armour, spears in hand. "I'm sure you're wondering why you have been brought here."

"I have a couple guesses." Ciara replied. Her voice was dry as she viewed the man in front of her. He wore elaborate armour, enrobed in rich golden cloth, and the white of his hair was stark in the light of the cage.

"Good, then I should not have to explain the situation to you." The man said. "You're on Asgard. If you should choose to cooperate, you will be returned to your home at the earliest opportunity."

Ciara raised her eyebrows. "And what does cooperating look like?"

"It is my knowledge that you have taken an interest in my son."

"It's my job to take an interest in him. And from what I understand, he isn't your son."

"My apologies, I'm not sure what you had been made aware of up until this point." The man said, but she could detect no remorse. "Loki is a fugitive, and he belongs on Asgard. Is it normal for your agency to take on the role of harbouring criminals?"

"He belongs on Asgard, so that you can execute him." Ciara said, her eyes following Odin as he slowly paced around the cage. His guards remained at the door. "I think that's what you meant to say."

"Loki's actions against your people are not the only crimes he must answer for." Odin said, and the calmness in his voice was unsettling.

"Where I come from, we don't skip the trial part of the sentencing. Especially when their actions weren't completely their own."

"And I respect your customs." Odin stopped walking. "Truly, I do. But in turn, you must respect mine."

"I can't do that."

"Tell me why that is, Ciara?"

Ciara flinched at the sound of her name. "Because Loki is under earth protection now."

"I'm not entirely certain I believe you." Odin said.

"Are you insinuating that I'm lying to you?"

"Oh, no, not at all." The king took a deep breath and continued walking, each step painstakingly slow. "I just don't think you are being completely honest with me, as to why you cannot return Loki to Asgard. It is my belief that your feelings cloud your judgment."

"If by feelings you mean ethics, sure." She said.

"I know that you have taken a liking to Loki, Ciara. And if it were not too late, I would have immediately cautioned you against doing so. Loki is dangerous, and he has proven time and time again that he cannot be trusted with the power he holds."

Ciara was unmoving. "You don't know as much as you think you do."

"It is one thing to know, but another thing entirely to hope for, Ciara."

"Loki won't just hand himself over. You're wasting your time." Ciara said.

"Nor do I expect him to." Odin stopped his pacing in front of the door. "But he will come, and when he does, Asgard will be ready."

"You overestimate how much he cares about me."

"I don't believe I do." Odin replied, a small smile tugging at his features. "These men will escort you to your chambers. Good night, Lady Ciara."

Odin departed the room as Ciara stood in silence. The guards on either side of the door approached, and one tapped his spear on the ground. The walls of the cage disappeared, the only light coming from the ceiling, which remained hovering a ways above her.

"Hands." One of them said.

Ciara obliged, deciding it was an ill time for an escape attempt. She had no bearing on where she was, and she certainly had no clue how to get back to earth if she even escaped whatever hole they had stuck her in.

"Walk." The other said, and they began towards the door, the two guards trailing a couple of steps behind Ciara.

The stone opened up into a room made of the same material, except more cages populated the new room. Some of them housed creatures like she had never imagined - let alone seen - before. She kept her gaze straight towards the double doors at the end of the hallway for the remainder of the walk.

"Left." One of the guards said, as they opened the doors and separate staircases extended to both the left and right.

At the top of the steps, the ceilings suddenly became towering. It was as if they had entered a massive auditorium, with pillars running in a line down the centre of the room, other people walking on the opposite side of them.

"Straight." One of the guards said. Ciara hadn't realized she had stopped walking, and she trudged ahead at his command.

As they walked down the massive room, Ciara caught sight of a large group making their along on the opposite side of the pillars. One woman stood at the forefront, and she locked eyes with Ciara. Her brunette hair was plentiful, pulled back into an intricate braid. She looked like a queen, in both her disposition and the extravagant dress that she donned. And she stopped dead in her tracks when their gazes met.

This startled Ciara a little, but she kept her expression stoic. The woman looked at her almost knowingly, but definitely concernedly.  
"Left, up the stairs." A guard said to her rear, and Ciara took one last look at the woman before she veered left and started up the steps.

Another hallway opened up before them, but this one was slightly more narrow. It was lined with double doors, very spaced apart, leading one to believe that the rooms behind them were sizable.

"You're in here."

Ciara looked to the doors that the guard gestured towards. She didn't miss a beat, stepping forwards and pushing the double doors open to reveal the room within.

A massive bed was pressed against the back wall, complete with bedside tables, a dresser, and a separate room in one of the far corners that she presumed to be a bathroom.

"Hands."

Ciara turned around, held out her arms, and the cuffs were promptly removed. The guards turned to leave and pulled the doors shut behind themselves.

_What the fuck. _She thought.

The room was five times the size of the one that she occupied on the SHIELD base, and it was beautiful. She couldn't help but take note of the irony of the situation; Loki had had a nearly identical experience not long ago. He started in a cell, and then was assigned a room. Except in Ciara's version of events, Loki wasn't here to keep an eye on her as she had been for him.

Odin's civility had been off-putting, but then again, she didn't exactly have a baseline idea of what he was like (just made up expectations based on what she knew from Thor and Loki).

Ciara made her way over to the dresser to see what kind of clothes the Asgardians had provided her with, and wasn't exactly surprised when she revealed what was within.

Everything was simply coloured, going along with the scheme of golds, off-whites, and rich colours that seemed to coat everything she had seen in Asgard so far. The majority of things were some form of dress, with some simple shirts, pants, and undergarments to round out the selection.

"I hope everything fits." A woman's voice rang out from behind her.

Ciara turned to face the visitor, and just inside the doors stood the woman she had locked eyes with in the corridor.

"Forgive me, you must be wondering who I am." The woman added, striding forward to close the distance between them slightly. "My name is Frigga, I am Thor and Loki's mother."

"The queen, then?" Ciara asked.

"Yes, something like that." She said, her lips forming a warm smile.

"I suppose you already know who I am, then." Ciara said. She couldn't get a read on Frigga. The queen was without the stern, calculating demeanor that Odin upheld when he spoke to Ciara.

Frigga nodded. "It's lovely to finally meet you in person. I wish the circumstances could have been different." She said.

"The feeling is mutual." Ciara replied, then made a show of looking around the room. "Why all the luxury?" She asked, her gaze landing back on Frigga. "Is this how Asgard treats all of it's hostages?"

"You are a guest." Frigga corrected. "Until this whole situation can be figured out."

"So I can leave then?" Ciara asked.

"You are free to roam within the walls of the citadel." Frigga answered, making her way towards the bed, and taking a seat on the corner. "How is he? Loki, I mean." She asked, and her expression grew solemn.

"I think you already know the answer to that question." Ciara didn't move from beside the dresser.

Frigga took a deep breath. "I only know what I have been told by my husband, and he cares little for details."

"He's doing well." Ciara said, nodding. "He's made a full recovery."

"But how_ is_ he?" Frigga pressed. "His mind."

Ciara cocked her head as Frigga laid a hand on the bed's edge next to her, gesturing for her to sit. Ciara did so, and there were only a couple of feet separating them.

"It's hard to say." Ciara replied. "He's very private in that regard."

Frigga nodded. "Yes, well Loki has never been very good at dealing with his emotions."

"Were you and him close?" Ciara asked.

Frigga smiled again, her lips pressed together in a firm line. "Yes. Closer than he was to his father."

"So why are you letting Odin do this?" Ciara watched her intently. "This doesn't end well, no matter who walks out. More people than just Loki will die because of this."

"I love my husband." Frigga said, then continued. "And I trust his judgment. But I believe this time it is more than just business - this matter is personal to him."

"But it is to you, too." Ciara said, biting her lip before she spoke again. "To a lot of people."

Frigga's eyes searched Ciara's face. "I will not pretend to know what the extent of your concern is for Loki. But you should know that everything will be done to ensure that as little harm as possible comes to any others because of this. And that is a sentiment that Loki has never had much care for."

"He's changed." Ciara replied. "I know my testimony doesn't mean much to anyone, but ask Thor if you need to."

Frigga smiled, but she looked pained. "I can only hope I will get the chance, dear."

"Before it's too late." Ciara bit her lip and nodded. "You know how this is going to go down. No one will go quietly. Myself included."

Frigga stood and collected herself. "There will be a feast tonight, and you are invited to attend. I can send someone to fetch you later if you would like."

"Sure." Ciara said, a little bit taken aback.

_Keep your enemies close, I guess. _


	16. An Improvised Plan

The dress that she had chosen was simple, a dark greyish silver, and floor length. Ciara had taken the opportunity to shower in the little ensuite bathroom of her quarters and she had her hair pulled back in a loose braid, secured with a thread of material from one of the clothing items in the dresser. She wasn't sure what to expect of the feast Frigga had spoken about, but it seemed like a good opportunity to get to know the Asgardians, which was about the only useful thing she could do in her current situation.

Then there were the thoughts of what the team back at home were thinking about the circumstances, and what they would do about it. She could only hope that Loki wouldn't make any split-second, dire decisions, but this hope was well-backed in the sense that Loki was incredibly smart, strategic, and he would know better than to act quickly and without deliberation. He would be safe for at least as long as he remained on earth and formulated a plan. That thought was a comforting one.

"Lady Ciara." A knock on the door, a woman's voice on the other side.

Ciara flinched at the sound. She had been pacing the room, but the visitor stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Come in." She said.

The woman who entered the double doors was beautiful. Dark hair fell down her shoulders and the dress she wore was rich maroon, with silver detailing.

"I've been sent to collect you for dinner." The woman said, clearly eyeing Ciara up and down, as if sizing her up. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Ciara said, examining the woman as she had done to her. The woman nodded and began back out the double doors, Ciara following closely and shutting them behind her.

They walked in silence down the corridor for a couple of minutes, only passing others occasionally.

When they passed over a bridge that led outside, Ciara had to withhold a shocked reaction to the scenery. The land to her left and right was cloaked in gold. The buildings seemed like something from books of myths and legend, towering and glimmering in the light from the darkened, colourful sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The woman said, noticing Ciara.

Ciara turned her gaze back forwards as they met the other side of the bridge and were back inside. "Very." She said.

They took a couple more turns, until suddenly a great hall opened up to them through a doorway. Long tables lined the floor, each with intricate centerpieces and seating rows and rows of people in similar dress. She could make out Odin seated at the head of one of the tables, engaged in conversation with a man to his left.

"My name is Sif." The woman said as they approached one of the tables, a group who had had their backs turned to them glancing over their shoulders to regard the two women. "And these are the warriors three."

One of the men stood up, and his blond hair was curly, a charming smile adorning his features. He gave a prompt bow as he looked at Ciara.

"Fandral, my Lady." He said, and his eyes twinkled.

"Ciara." She said, moving to extend her hand for a handshake. Instead, he took it and kissed the back of it gently. Ciara wasn't sure how to react to that.

"We have heard so much about you, Lady Ciara." Fandral said, and gestured to an open seat to his left. The other two men to his right had been watching her, but turned back towards Sif as she sat opposite them.

"I'm honored." Ciara said, but her tone of voice was forced friendliness. She felt alien in the environment, and it was bothersome that everyone she had met so far seemed to know more about her than they let on. She also couldn't help but wonder what exactly had been said about her - not to mention the fact that Odin and the Asgardians were apparently much more proficient than SHIELD had thought in their spying abilities.

"So you know Thor?" One of the men asked, taking a swig from a tankard on the table in front of him. He was covered in ginger hair, and the best word she could find to describe him was _hearty_. "How is he?"

"I haven't had the chance to ask him recently." Ciara answered. The feelings of discomfort bubbled up inside of her and she dug her nails into her palm. She could feel Sif's eyes specifically boring a hole into her.

"Lady Ciara, you need not feel uncomfortable here." Fandral said, a little quieter. "You are among friends." He looked at her intently, the smile having vanished and replaced by seriousness.

Ciara's gaze snapped to him. "By association, I think." She said.

Fandral swallowed and pursed his lips. He leaned in closer to her and his voice was even more hushed as he spoke. "Not everyone agrees with the Allfather's ruling. Just play along." He leaned back out and gave her a very slight tip of his head.

Ciara's eyes searched his handsome features and she could discern no lie.

"You have every right to be wary." Sif said across the table. "But Fandral is right. You are in no danger here."

"It's not me I'm worried about." Ciara said, and Sif shared a glance with her companions.

"Perhaps it would be better if we could speak alone, for a moment." Fandral said, standing from his seat and offering a hand to Ciara. She took it - reluctantly - and raised from her chair as well. They began walking out towards the back of the room, away from the noise of all of the conversations that clouded the air.

A balcony stretched out before them, the entire city displayed below. They stopped at the banister and Fandral turned to her, leaning against the rail with one arm.

"The Asgardian attire suits you well." He said, offering a small smile. "I know this situation is not ideal for you, Lady Ciara."

"It's a bit much to take in." She replied, resting her arms on the railing and peering out at the landscape.

"We have been in contact with Thor." Fandral said, and Ciara flinched, looking back over her shoulder at the room in alarm.

"Don't worry, they cannot hear us." He said, assuaging the unease she felt. "We all wish for this to go over peacefully, but as I'm sure you are aware, that will likely not be the case."

"But you're planning something, with Thor." Ciara said. "Why? Odin said that Loki is guilty for crimes against Asgard too."

"Loki committed treason." Fandral replied, nodding. "But the death sentence is unfit for him - you see, there was a time before this version of him that the Allfather refuses to see past. Wherein Loki was a Prince of Asgard - albeit, a difficult one. But if what you and Thor say is true, and he truly has changed, then everything within our power will be done to assure that his execution is not carried out. We have fought alongside, and _for_ him before, so this will not be the first time, and hopefully not the last."

"So there's a plan, then?" Ciara asked.

"Yes, there is." Fandral nodded. "And it will be carried out tonight."

/

"Let's go over this one more time." Tony said.

The team stood on the roof of SHIELD HQ, completely outfitted in their respective uniforms and armour. Natasha, Thor, Clint, Tony, and Steve were present, Banner having opted to sit out of the plan in favor of not causing more chaos than was already predicted to ensue.

"Ciara is with your friends on the other side." Tony continued, looking at Thor. "They'll be with her when we get there? And there is where again?"

"The bifrost. Which will be opened for us by Heimdall." Thor said, then turned to Loki. "You are certain you will be able to shield me from his view, brother?"

"For a time, yes." Loki replied.

"So Heimdall thinks we're trading him," Clint tipped his head at Loki, "For Ciara. And Heimdall is some kind of gatekeeper, and he'll let us in?"

"Theoretically, yes." Thor answered.

Clint nodded slowly, giving a small shrug. "Sounds foolproof."

"It'll be a lot of improvising." Natasha said, her arms crossed. "Nothing we haven't done before though."

"Except this time it's on a different planet." Steve said, scanning the members of the team. "So everyone needs to keep their guards up." He stopped his gaze on Thor. "You're certain your friends will help us if this comes down to a fight?"

"Positive." Thor affirmed.

"And the backup plan?" Clint asked.

"Get Ciara back." Loki replied, solemnly. "Regardless of what transpires, Ciara returns here."

"Brother, it won't come to tha-"

"But if it does, she will not remain on Asgard." Loki interjected, then looked to Steve. "Do I have your word?"

Steve nodded. "You have my word."

"Alright then." Tony took a deep breath. "Let's get this party started then."

/

Ciara and Fandral had rejoined the others at their table, after he had briefly gone over the 'plan' that had been formulated.

Needless to say, she wasn't a fan. Mostly because it wasn't much of a plan at all.

"Wine, Lady Ciara?" The bearded one asked, holding up a decanter that had been passed down the table.

"I'm alright, thank you." She replied.

Ciara had left her plate barely touched when the main courses had been served, instead opting to take sips of mead every now and then - more to appear gracious than to actually enjoy the drink. She couldn't get her mind off of the events that would transpire that night.

The team had been very, very quick to react to her capture. This was to be expected, no doubt because of the anger that had been incited in SHIELD at her disappearance, as well as that of her friends - and Loki. She couldn't even begin to guess what his thought process must have been. She did, however, vividly remember professing her feelings to him in an intoxicated state.

Regardless of what happened, Ciara knew she would not be going back to earth without him. The team would have to knock her out and drag her away if it came down to that.

"Lady Ciara, you look absolutely stunning." Frigga approached, taking a seat next to Sif, opposite Ciara. "I am so glad that you could join us."

Ciara was torn from her train of thought, and she forced a smile, showing no teeth. "Thank you, you have a beautiful home."

"I'm glad you think so." Frigga said. "I see you have met some of Thor's friends."

Fandral grinned. "And we are taking _excellent_ care of her, My Queen."

"That I am sure of, Fandral." Frigga replied, chuckling and rolling her eyes. "Should you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to ask. You are a guest here, and you will be treated as such." Frigga added, standing and clasping her hands together. She offered a bow and another warm smile. "Please, enjoy the rest of your night." The group watched as the Queen departed, back to the table that the Allfather sat at.

"She likes you." Sif said.

"I don't see how she could." Ciara answered, and there was a deliberate pause of speech from the others. "I'm sure she would rather do without my being here, I mean."

"You represent hope, to her." Sif said. "The queen loves her sons, unconditionally, and she always has. This is the first time in recent memory that she has been able to foster faith - in both of them."

"If it counts for anything." Volstagg said, grinning widely. "I like you too!" He said.

Just then, a small troop of armoured guards moved into the room from one of the hallways, heading straight for the allfather. They looked akin to the two that had accompanied Odin in the cell with Ciara earlier. One of them leaned over and spoke into the king's ear, whose expression hardened. Almost subsequently, a new light illuminated the room, coming from the balcony where Fandral had spoken to Ciara earlier.

"It's time." The warrior who had not spoken said this quietly, watching as a burst of colour streamlined out of a golden globe in the distance.

Ciara felt a hand grasp her forearm beneath the table. She turned to look at Fandral, who was gripping her tightly.

"Stay with us. Do you understand?" He said.

"Yes." She said, and the troop of guards began heading towards them. Odin had risen from his seat and left through the doorway that the men had entered from.

"Lady Ciara." One of the guards said. "Come with us please."

Ciara stood, and so did Sif and the warriors.

"We are coming with her." Sif said.

"She comes alone. Allfather's orders." The guard replied.

Fandral let go of his grip on Ciara, but his gaze didn't leave her. He nodded and spoke. "Go. We will follow."

Ciara took one last look at her newly acquired allies before she stepped away to join the guard.

As they surrounded her and began escorting her to the doorway Odin had left out of, she ran her hand over her outer thigh, before remembering that she hadn't come to Asgard with any weapons. She was completely unarmed.

"Guards." Frigga's voice called out from behind the troop just before they reached the doorway, and the men behind Ciara separated to reveal the Queen. "I'm coming with you." Frigga said.

There was a pause, then, without argument, the group continued through the doorway with Frigga following closely.

Outside, Odin was mounted on a horse, his armour gleaming in the light of torches and the night sky. He regarded Frigga, Ciara, and the guards.

"You are with me." Frigga said to Ciara, lightly pulling her by the wrist towards a horse next to Odin's. The steed was all black, even its eyes, as the two women pulled themselves up onto its back. The guards all mounted their own horses, forming behind and beside those that Odin, Ciara, and Frigga resided on. They took off without warning.

The city flashed by her as the panic began to bubble up in the pit of Ciara's stomach. She felt the warm air blow through her dress, noting the absence of it below where the prosthetic met her thigh.

If everything had gone according to plan up until that moment, Loki, Thor, and the remainder of the team would be waiting for them on what Fandral had referred to as the 'Bifrost'. It was a word she had heard in passing mentioned by Thor only once or twice, and as the hooves of the horses met the rainbow bridge she could see it growing nearer and nearer.

Ciara did her best to keep looking straight forwards, in search of the figures of her friends, but the scenery around them was absolutely mesmerizing. The waves below whipped in every which direction, and it felt almost as though they were riding towards the edge of the world.

_There. _She thought, finally picking up sight of a line of figures, standing in front of the golden orb that emitted the rainbow stream of light. The horses began to slow down as they drew closer and closer, all the way until it couldn't have been more than ten metres between the two groups. The team stood in the doorway of the Bifrost.

Ciara could make out everyone, right down to the expressions on their faces. Tony donned his armour without a helmet, and he was frowning. Natasha looked calm, straight forward, her eyes locked on Ciara as she dismounted the horse, Frigga remaining mounted. Next to Natasha was Loki, his black armour devoid of any metallic trim, any colour, his hands pulled behind his back, cuffed. His skin looked pale and eyes dark but wide, as Ciara stood next to Frigga. To his left were Clint and Steve, and then Thor. Their plan had worked; Loki had concealed Thor long enough to get them into Asgard, as it was assumed that Heimdall wouldn't believe the 'trade' was real if Thor was present.

"Father." Thor called out, stepping forward and garnering the attention of all of those around him. "We wish to speak peacefully." Loki's hands fell back to his sides as the cuffs disappeared from his wrists.

"There is only one way in which this ends peacefully, My Son." Odin replied. He didn't step down from his mount.

"It was your lesson to never seek out war, and now you go back on your own words for what… A personal vendetta?" Thor asked, shaking his head. "Loki is under earth protection now, Father. You have gone too far. Lady Ciara is innocent."

Ciara wanted to run. Sprint across the distance and leave the Asgardians behind, but she knew better. She knew that would mean nothing other than a battle. So she stood in her place and kept her eyes on Loki, and he returned her look, as if to reassure her to remain calm. The dress felt restrictive and it was all she could do to stay in place and listen.

"You are right, she is innocent. So I propose a trade." Odin said. "A life for a life. And this will all be concluded, peacefully."

"You know that I canno-"

"Thor." Loki interrupted Thor mid-sentence. "It's alright." Thor looked at Loki in shock, and Loki offered a nod, before he turned back to Odin. "A trade." He began walking forwards, until he was halfway between the two groups. Ciara stepped forwards instinctively, and Loki's eyes darted to her.

_Trust me, my dear. _His voice reverberated in her head.

"I will not stand for tricks, Loki." Odin said, and his voice was gruff and stern.

Loki held his hands out to his sides and shook his head before dropping them. "No tricks. My lady, if you will." He kept his eyes on Odin, but gestured for Ciara to walk towards him. She did so without hesitation, and the two of them stood in the middle.

_You look beautiful tonight. _Loki's voice invaded her mind again, and Ciara bit down harshly on her lip. His words were meant to be reassuring, but nothing could calm the agitation she felt.

"This is what you want, Allfather?" Loki said. Ciara and him stood side-by-side, watching Odin for an answer. "One life for another?"

Ciara pleaded in her mind that Loki had a plan. She wanted so badly to grab him and tell him not to walk to the Asgardian side. Her insides burned and her muscles coiled, ready to do whatever it would take to keep him from doing so.

_Please have a plan. Please, please don't let this be it. I'm not going anywhere if this is it._

A small smirk tugged on the edges of Loki's lips when Odin was silent, but he didn't seem to be enjoying a single moment of the confrontation. "Tell me, Odin, how does that make you any better of a man than me?"

"Do not compare the lengths I will go to to carry out a rightful punishment for the crimes you have committed, Loki." Odin said back, his voice raised. "Say your goodbyes, and let this be done with."

Loki nodded solemnly. "Very well." He said, and then turned to Ciara. "I'm sorry." His voice was hushed, and he lifted his hands to her face, pressing his lips to her forehead in a gentle kiss. "I love you." He said.

But something was off in the way that his skin felt on hers. It was not ice cold, nor burning hot, but warm, normal, unlike what she knew his skin to feel like. Not to mention, this was a horrible, ill-timed spot to profess his love for her.

_Oh my god. _She thought. _You're not Loki._

Ciara bit down harder on her lip and nodded. "I love you too." She said, and Loki walked to join the Asgardians. Ciara felt frozen in place, and it was only when Clint stepped over and grabbed her arm. "Ciara." He said hushedly, and her head snapped towards him. "I'm sorry, we have to go." Ciara's eyes were wide, and she nodded, following Clint back towards the rest of the team. She couldn't let the Asgardians see she was aware that something was amiss. Fandral hadn't told her, or hadn't known there was more to the plan.

"Are we done here?" Tony spoke out.

"Yes, I believe we are." Odin said. "Heimdall, return them to Midgard."

"Yes sir." The gate guard said, as the team assembled before the gap in the golden sphere's walls. Heimdall lifted his sword and plunged it into the gap that activated the bifrost. The machine roared into action and light shot out of the gap.

"Father." The Loki on the side of the Asgardians turned to look up at Odin, and Odin returned the look. A golden glow encapsulated 'Loki's' figure, and when it disappeared, it wasn't Loki that stood there, but Thor. "It's good to see you again." He ripped his hands free from the cuffs and thrust the hand that held Mjolnir towards the bifrost and the open gate that sucked the members of the team through it. Thor flew through the air and past Heimdall before any of the Asgardians could react, all the way into the gap, while each and every one of them disappeared into the rainbow ray, destined back towards Earth.

/

Ciara closed her eyes until she felt her feet on solid ground again. As soon as she did, she reopened them and immediately sought out Loki. He stood a couple feet to her left, and she wrapped her arms around his torso in a hug. She felt his completely engulf her a split second later.

"I can't believe that worked." She heard Tony say behind her. "You think that's it?"

"I do not know." Thor said. "No doubt he will be furious, but he is not unwise. It's hard to say what his next move will be."

Ciara tuned out the voices and squeezed Loki tighter, until he finally emitted a little "Ow." And she released. He looked her up and down and smirked.

"I see you have met my mother." He said.

Ciara had all but forgotten about the dress. She snorted and answered. "You don't like it?"

"You look exquisite, darling."

"That sounded like sarcasm."

"I would never." He said, placing a kiss on her forehead. His lips were ice cold - possibly more so because her blood pressure was so elevated. But the familiar feeling of him was so comforting.

_You don't realize what you have until it's gone. _She thought.

"I didn't know if you would come." She said.

Loki's brows furrowed and he cocked his head. "That's an interesting thought."

"Oi, lovebirds." Tony interrupted. "Fury wants to see us, like yesterday. Let's get a move on."

They were on the rooftop of the headquarters, and night had fallen around them. Natasha and Clint led the team back inside the building and to the elevator. Ciara found herself squished in one of the corners between Loki and Thor on the ride down. When the elevator doors finally opened again, they spilled out onto the Command floor.

"Hey." Ciara said, lingering towards the back with Loki. "Do you mind getting me out of this dress?"

"Maybe later." Loki murmured, grinning slyly. A couple of seconds later she was engulfed in golden glow, and in the place of the dress she wore her SHIELD combat uniform, the one that resembled a black SWAT suit.

"Interesting choice." She said.

Loki shrugged. "Black suits you." He said, as they entered the main room. Fury and Hill were already situated at the table, but not sitting.

"Good to see you're still in one piece, Volkov." Fury said.

"Yeah, I think so too." Ciara replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs. The adrenaline of the past day was starting to leave her system, and there was little the serum could do to combat the basic human need that was sleep.

"Since you're both here." Fury looked between Ciara and Loki, whom which had taken place standing behind her. "I assume everything went according to plan."

"You would be correct." Tony said, back in his regular attire. "Hell of a trip though."

Fury nodded. "Loki, Volkov, you're dismissed. We'll do a full brief tomorrow. The rest of you stick around, yours happens now."

"Yes sir." Ciara said, standing up just moments after she had sat down and tailing Loki on his way back towards the elevator.

Once they were safely inside and out of earshot, Ciara let out a sigh.

"What indication have I given that made you think I would not come for you?" Loki asked.

_Oh, so we're getting right to that. _She thought.

"The risk was high. I didn't think both of us would be walking out of there if you did." Ciara replied.

"And you assumed that would stop me?" Loki asked, his brows raising. "It is my job to protect you, Ciara."

"When did that become the case?"

Loki paused before he spoke. "I don't believe that is something that can be pinpointed to an exact time."

"Before or after I told you that I love you?" Ciara said, then added. "Did you coach Thor on what to say on the bridge? Or was that all part of the plan - like a last ditch effort to pull on Odin's heart strings and change his mind?"

"Thor and I spoke." Loki answered. "But what he said was improvised."

The doors opened, and they stepped out. When they reached the hallway outside of their rooms, Loki went to enter his room.

"Uh uh." Ciara said. "My room. We're talking."


	17. Our Demons

**A couple of days off from work means I get to pump out a couple of chapters! Thank you all so much for reading - if you're enjoying or you just want to say hey be sure to leave a review. It genuinely means so much to get feedback from you lovely people. (:**

**Took a little bit of a different turn with Ciara at the beginning of this chapter. I had it written one way and then completely rewrote it. I was kind of inspired by the vibe of this youtube video: **** watch?v=D8ywdRS3qvE&list=WL&index=11&t=0s**

**There's a little twist thrown in at the end too, just to keep things exciting.**

**Let me know your thoughts and as always, enjoyyyyyyy!**

When the door closed behind them, Ciara felt something in her snap completely out of nowhere.

Her chest tightened and she kept her back to him as she took slow steps forward, her arms crossed with one hand over her mouth, the ball in her throat growing and growing.

"Ciara?" Loki's voice cut through the ringing in her ears, but it couldn't make it stop.

She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on both lips. The tears made her face grow hot, and her fists clenched.

_Asgard._

_Odin and Frigga._

_Sif and the Warriors Three._

_Loki. _

_Believing she was about to lose Loki._

_Thinking she was about to fight with everything she had so that wouldn't happen._

_Asgard. Another world entirely full of monsters, gods of myth and legend._

Ciara's body trembled and she felt Loki's hand on her shoulder. She jerked away from it and took a step away, her back kept to him.

_I'm not meant for this. This is so much bigger than me._

Her throat burned as she tried to bury the emotions before they could spill out and display themselves for Loki to see and hear. The breaking point had been so unexpected - she had been fine right up until that door shut, and they were alone. It was as though all that fear, agitation, anger, desperation, aggression, had been bottled up, until then she could no longer keep it withheld. And Ciara was in full on breakdown mode.

"Please speak to me." Loki said, his voice quiet, pleading.

The blood rushed through her ears and her head pounded as she dropped down into a crouch, forcing deep breaths through her nose in fear that if she opened her mouth a sound might escape.

_Pull yourself together_.

But she couldn't. Ciara was panicking, and every inch of her body felt that panic to the extreme. Her breathing was laborious, and finally the wet heat of tears escaped and flowed down her burning skin and she sunk to the ground. She sat and pulled her legs to her chest in the middle of the floor, letting her forehead drop to her knees.

Loki crouched next to her and she felt his hand on her shoulder once again, as he leaned in close. "Ciara, you're safe." He said.

When she didn't respond for what felt like minutes, she felt his hands slide beneath her and suddenly she was lifted.

Loki carried her to the bed and sat at it's head, leaning against the wall with Ciara in his lap, her head pressed against his chest.

"It's alright." He said, pulling her close to him.

This was completely foreign to Loki. It was unlike any kind of emotion he had ever seen from her before - just absolutely raw, unconsolable. And the genuine care and concern he felt for her in general but especially so in that moment was overbearing. He wanted to give her the world in that moment. To tell her that he had her, and she had him. It had been so hard to tell what she was feeling when they had returned because she was such a professional in that regard - hiding everything. Because everything was a sign of weakness, and weakness in her line of work was the end.

But Loki knew weakness well. The practice of hiding it was one he too had perfected and he too had succumbed to the personal collapse one experienced when they couldn't keep up the facade anymore. For him, it manifested as rage, and resentment, but for Ciara it seemed to be paralyzing fear. It made his heart ache to watch.

"I'm sorry." She croaked out, burying her face in his armour, as her breathing began to slow.

"Don't be." He said, brushing her hair back from where it had matted to her face. "Can you look at me?"

Ciara slowly raised her head, her eyes puffy and bloodshot.

"Everything," he searched her face with his eyes, his voice low, "is going to be alright."

Ciara's face contorted and she bit down on her lips again. Her breathing had become less ragged, but she shook her head and dropped it again. Loki lifted a hand to her chin and tipped her face up towards him.

"Ciara, listen to me." He said, then paused. His gaze was intense and unwavering. "I love you. You're safe. Do you trust me?"

Ciara swallowed and nodded slightly. Loki leaned forwards and pressed his lips to her forehead, both of their eyes shut.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, but Loki didn't move. "I'm sorry." She said, using the sleeves of her uniform to wipe the mess of tears and clammy sweat from her face as he pulled back.

"Don't be." Loki said. "This is not your fault. None of it."

"This isn't me." Ciara said, prompting a small smile from Loki as she frowned.

"Emotions are not here to hurt you." Loki said, using his thumb to brush a tear from her cheek. "You should not treat them like enemies, or they will behave as such."

"I have enough of those." Ciara said, and Loki chuckled.

"You are correct about that." He said.

Ciara took a couple of deep breaths as her body returned to its normal state, her heart rate slowed. "I'm going to have a shower." She said.

"Would you like me to leave?" He asked.

Ciara shook her head as she began to sit up, then stand, and begin stripping off the uniform. "No, I'll only be a couple minutes."

"I'll be right here then."

/

They fell asleep shortly after Ciara got out of the shower. Or at least Ciara did.

Loki lay awake for an extra hour or two thinking about the events of the past couple days, including, and at the forefront, Ciara's breakdown. While he had remained calm for her, it had been a difficult thing for him to watch and decide how to deal with.

Ciara was strong. Her will, that is. So much so that she was relentlessly capable of many things. No doubt during her time on Asgard she was put through plenty of situations where it would have required her to rely on her SHIELD training in order to stay collected. Loki decided it must have just been a bit too much - what with the introduction to an entire other world, the people there, the stress of it all - and Ciara was young after all. She didn't have as much life or work experience as the majority of her colleagues, and not to mention the personal nature of the situation; Loki's life was the centerpiece, the cause for everything that was happening to and around her. And Ciara loved him. That much was finally for certain.

Loki felt Ciara's head on his shoulder stir, and lift, and she looked at him through squinted eyes. He had woken up a few minutes prior but chosen not to move from where he lay on his back, Ciara's arm tossed across his torso.

"Hey." She said, and began to sit up. She glanced at her watch and the time read _9:33._

"Morning." Loki replied, also bringing himself to rise as she retrieved the prosthetic remote from the dresser and began getting dressed.

"How did you sleep?" She asked, replacing the t-shirt she had slept in for a clean hoodie.

"Well. And you?" He said.

Ciara nodded. "Best I have in a while. Thanks for staying."

"I wouldn't get used to it. You take up the entire bed." Loki smirked, teasing.

"You're twice my size." Ciara said.

"Somehow that still doesn't stop you." Loki stood and snatched his shirt from the floor. "How are you feeling?"

Ciara paused mid-braid and looked at him pointedly. "Fine."

Loki nodded, understanding the hint.

"Do you think this is over? Honestly?" She said, slipping the remote in her pocket. "With Odin?"

Loki's expression shifted and she could see the muscles in his jaw clench. His eyes seemed to grow dark, and he looked away from Ciara. "No." He said.

"You think he'll come here?" She asked.

Loki snorted and returned his gaze to her. "Let us put it this way. If Odin - or anyone of his men - choose to come here, they will have much worse to fear than what SHIELD has to offer."

Sensing the way his mood was diving, Ciara shrugged. "Honestly, they probably would have returned me in a day or two anyways. I have a tendency to step on nerves."

Loki smirked. "Not after they saw you in that dress, love."

Ciara grinned. "Fandral seemed to like it too."

"You think that bothers me, don't you?" He planted a kiss on the crown of her head. "If he were to try anything with you, I would take his hands from him."

"Morbid." Ciara said, glancing at her watch. "We should head to Command, see if Fury is there so we can get this brief over with."

"After you darling." Loki said, the moment of disturbance he had shown earlier having faded.

/

"Your new location won't be far from here." Hill said, moving through screens on a tablet in front of her as she spoke. "A car will be arranged to take you there tonight, say, 17:00. Until then, sit tight."

"Understood." Ciara said.

The brief had not taken very long, and she could tell Fury had not been too pleased with what Ciara told him. The most glaring details were that obviously Asgard had a closer eye and a better idea of the goings on surrounding Loki than SHIELD thought. How else would they have known the best way to get to him was through Ciara?

So it was decided that Loki and Ciara would be moved from the headquarters that night, to a safehouse a couple miles from the base. The problem of interrogating the Asgardians that they had in containment would be appointed to someone else, and Loki and Ciara would be removed from the premises - as well as placed on 24/7 guard.

"Alright, you two are dismissed." Hill didn't look up from the tablet when she spoke. Ciara and Loki made their exit.

As they stepped into the elevator and took it to the cafeteria floor, Loki was silent. Ciara couldn't tell how he was processing what she had told Fury at the brief. There was a certain air to him that was unsettling, and she could tell he was trying to stifle the way he truly felt.

"Loki." She said, and he turned his head to face her. "You okay?"

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Define 'okay'."

"Alright, what are you thinking then?"

Loki's eyes narrowed slightly and he turned back towards the doors as they opened. "Nothing appropriate for a public setting."

Ciara didn't press for details. She could tell just by his presence and the way his demeanor had shifted since the debrief that hearing about her time on Asgard had affected him far more than expected. She was almost inclined to feel bad that he had to be there for it - given the toxic relationship he had with the Asgardians, both past and present - but on the same note his presence was not optional.

But then there was also the way he had handled her during her moment the night prior. It was exactly what she had needed. Showing any signs of weakness in front of others was something Ciara very consciously avoided - like any person would - but with Loki it was different. She didn't feel judged, he hadn't immediately just attempted to talk her into 'feeling better'. Instead he had let her ride out the wave on her own and it had been so, incredibly relieving on her mentally.

So that left her with the issue of how his mind was faring. Loki was wickedly smart, but his history of devising plans purely out of the way that he felt was extensive. Sure, he had handled Ciara's rescue well, but she couldn't help but wonder how long it was before he too would reach his breaking point.

They poured their coffees in more silence, and Ciara began to scout out a table for them to sit at. When she spotted Natasha and Clint seated at one on the far side of the room, she started in their direction.

"These seats taken?" Ciara asked. Clint, with a mouthful of cereal, gestured frantically for her to sit.

"What he means to say is no." Natasha said, smirking.

"Thanks, Tash." Clint grumbled, swallowing. "How are you feeling kid?"

"Fine, honestly. I really wasn't gone that long."

"Long enough it looked like. What was up with the dress? You get the royal treatment or something?" Clint asked. Loki shifted in his seat and took a large swig of coffee.

"I didn't want to look more out of place than I already was. Pretty sure I got my princess card revoked when we gave the finger to the king though."

"I wouldn't be so sure. What with you sleeping with Prince of Darkness here." Tony's voice came from behind her, and he pulled out a chair, taking a seat. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all." Ciara said, shifting the foot of her prosthetic beneath the table so it made contact with Loki's shin. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"Don't mention it." Tony said, tipping his mug towards Loki. "Can't take credit anyways. Your boyfriend was the mastermind."

"How much did that hurt you to say, Stark?" Loki quipped in response.

"Just trying to get you some brownie points." Tony said.

"Anyways." Natasha said, assuaging the tension before it could get any worse. "We heard you two are leaving."

"Yeah. Just to a safe house not far from here. Hill said the car leaves at five." Ciara said. "What about you guys? Any changes other than just to wait and see what happens?"

"Nat and I are heading out tonight, to the facility holding the Asgardians. See if we can get any intel out of them." Clint replied.

"What is it that you expect to learn?" Loki asked, eyebrows raised. "Certainly they are out of the loop at this stage."

"Whatever we can." Clint said. "Do you have any _helpful _insight to offer? Or just angst?"

"Torturing expendable men will get you nowhere. You might actually find it to make the situation worse, should Odin be notified."

"And he won't be. His men are isolated, and it'll be kept that way. Whatever we can get at this point is more useful than nothing." Clint said.

"Don't say I did not warn you." Loki's tone was cold, which made Ciara even more wary of how caustic his mood had turned.

"What do you think Odin's next move is?" Natasha asked, and Loki's gaze snapped to her.

He was silent for a couple of seconds before he spoke. "I think it's unwise to wait for Odin to act."

"So what would you propose?" Natasha continued.

"If it were up to me, I would watch him burn." Loki said the words without hesitation, as if they were meaningless. "The moment Ciara was taken, this became more than just an effort to fulfill the punishment intended for me. And her rescue only escalated his rage further. If there is anything I know, it is that the Allfather does not sit well with defiance. Even less so by the hand of humans."

"You think your gatekeeper is going to fall for a fake surrender a second time? Good luck with that." Tony said, and Loki snorted, smirking.

"The bifrost isn't the only method of travel between realms." Loki said.

"And how'd those alternative methods work out for you last time? I seem to remember you not looking too sharp during your first visit with us _humans_." Tony said.

Loki seemed unphased. "I applaud you Stark - I really do - for your ability to speak on topics that you have no real intelligence on. It's quite miraculous."

Ciara gave Loki a prompt kick in the shin with the prosthetic, just subtle enough that it wouldn't be seen by the others, but definitely felt by him. He didn't flinch.

"Maybe we should table this topic for now." Ciara spoke up, unwilling to watch the two butt heads any longer. She turned to Loki. "We should go pack." Ciara didn't wait for an answer, just stood and regarded the team members one last time. "We'll see you guys later."

Clint and Natasha nodded, and Tony offered a salute as Loki stood and they began walking towards the elevator.

"Okay, I'm not apologizing for Tony this time. You guys clearly can't be in the same place for longer than a couple of minutes." Ciara said. They stepped into the elevator and Ciara hit the button for the living quarters floor. When Loki didn't say anything in response, she continued. "You ready to tell me what's wrong yet?"

Loki laughed suddenly, turning to face her head on. "What is wrong?" He shook his head. "Either you truly do not understand the depth of the danger you are now in, or you choose not to. In both cases, I am more than mildly disappointed in you, Ciara."

"Disappointed in me?" Ciara snapped back. "You're joking, right? You're the one in danger here. We all are. Not just me. And if you haven't noticed, that's kind of the _nature_ of this job."

"Yes, and you have done an excellent job displaying to me just how well you are able to cope under pressure thus far." Loki chuckled, but his expression was vicious. His eyes had that same hunger she had seen in them only a couple times before, and it nearly made her stance waver. "Odin knew that by taking you and treating you the way that he did, Ciara, he would either be successful in this war that he has started. _Or _that he would be unsuccessful, and it would reveal the depths to which you can be manipulated in order to get what he truly wants."

"Your death." Ciara said, then stepped forwards so that they were nearly touching. She had to crane her neck in order to look up at him at the short distance. "And don't you fucking _dare _use last night as an example as to how I handle pressure. Don't."

"Everyone cracks eventually, Ciara." He said. "I suppose I just expected more from you."

"You're not thinking straight right now." She shook her head.

"Thinking straight?" Loki repeated, and before she could react his forearm was on her chest, her back pressed against the wall of the elevator. Ciara's eyes immediately shot to the camera in the corner. She wondered if he was manipulating it, and part of her hoped he was, despite the dangerous situation she found herself in. If he was seen by SHIELD acting the way he was, the consequences would be dire.

Loki chuckled and applied a little pressure. "You have no idea, love."

"Loki. Look at me. Look at yourself." She said, her hands gripping his arms instinctively, in an attempt to relieve the compression. "You need to stop."

"Do I?" He asked, his voice low. "And why is that? Are you afraid, Darling?"

"Fine." Ciara growled. "Have it your way." She lifted her arm and elbow dropped the bicep of his arm that was pressed against her. The tension disappeared as his arm fell from her chest, and she raised her prosthetic leg, bending it and extending forcefully so that the sole of her foot nailed him in the abdomen. He shot backwards to the opposite wall of the elevator, slamming into it with a grunt. His neck snapped back and head cracked against the wall.

"Loki." She said, her hands balled into fists. Loki stood across from her, huffing, and she watched the look in his eyes from moments ago disappear. The look was replaced with what she could only describe as shock. "Please tell me you're with me." She said.

"Ciara." He said, and the doors opened. Ciara didn't waste any more time. She closed the distance between them and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out into the hallway. "Ciara." He said, stopping in his tracks and subsequently stopping her because of her vice grip on his arm.

"Not here, my room." She said, and Loki didn't protest. They walked through the corridors hurriedly until they reached Ciara's room. She all but kicked down the door on the way in, Loki shutting it behind him as soon as he was inside.

Ciara turned on her heel to face him. "I need you to tell me what that was."

Loki took a step towards her, and Ciara took a step back, keeping the distance between them the same.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

Ciara shook her head. "That's not what I asked you."

"I can't answer your question." Loki said, frowning.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't, Ciara." He answered. She searched his face, listened closely to his tone, looking for any hints that he might be hiding the answer she needed. Her assessment came up bare; that he was being truthful.

"So you, what, got pissed off? And I just so happened to get in the way? That's what you have to say?"

"I never intended to hurt you." He said. Still no lie.

"You can't be telling me that just happened for no reason, Loki. Please, please don't tell me that." She shook her head again, and her clenched fists trembled. "Please."

Loki took slow, deliberate steps toward her, and Ciara didn't back up. He halted a couple feet before her.

"I am… So sorry, Ciara." He said.

"Why hasn't that happened before? Why now?"

"It has." Loki said. "Just never with you."

"So it's just a thing? A fucking overreaction? You have to give me something to work with, Loki."

Loki didn't answer right away. They watched each other closely, Ciara's expression hardened as she fought to keep the level of disturbance she felt under control.

"The sceptre." Loki finally said. "Since the sceptre. I believe that you can recall our conversation, your accusation of my lie."

The conversation that they had had in the very first safe house she had brought him to, after Thor had delivered him to her. She had accused Loki of his actions during the attack on New York not being entirely his own, and he had lied to her that the accusation was false.

"It is a remnant of the sceptre's effects." He said. "I believed it to be gone, until now."

Ciara couldn't hide her confusion. "Why until now?"

_Everyone cracks eventually, Ciara. _She thought, remembering his words from minutes ago.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked again, studying her closely.

"Yeah." She said, nodding, relaxing her hands. "Yeah, I'm fine." She took a couple of deep breaths. "Are you?"

"Of course." He replied.

"But the remnants… How do you get rid of them?"

Loki's brows furrowed and he shook his head. "I cannot do it to myself."

"So who can do it then?" Ciara asked.

Loki looked down, his gaze focused on the floor as he thought and considered his answer. When he eventually spoke, he was certain.

"My mother, Frigga."


	18. Bridge

**Thank you all so much for reading this far! We're coming up towards the end, and I can't say much other than I have already written a rough draft of it and omg. I MIGHT also already have plans for the next story. MIGHT.**

**To Savysnape7: thanks a million for your kind words! It means so much to me that you're enjoying the story and I genuinely can't express how happy your reviews make me. (:**

**Enjoy!**

"When we were young, our mother told us stories of the stones." Thor said. "Legends of the power they behold, and the conquests of the kings who fell while trying to possess them."

Ciara listened intently, doing her best to absorb what was being said. But the mystery that surrounded the stones was all-encompassing of the stories that were told of them. What Thor was telling her sounded more like myth and legend than hard facts.

Loki stood a couple of yards away from where Thor and Ciara were at the edge of the rooftop, looking out on the city below as the Thunder god did his best to educate her on what Loki was going through.

"And Frigga is the only one who knows how to… Get them out of someone?" Ciara asked.

"Not the stones, themselves." Thor said, ever patient. "When one possesses the stones, or even stands in their proximity, they have a certain influence. In my brother's case, he utilized one for an extended period of time. That coupled with whatever other abuse he endured at the hands of the original owner of the stone left him with residual effects."

"Okay, right. And your mother knows how to get rid of the residual effects?"

"My mother is well versed in the workings of the stones. She taught Loki almost everything he knows about the mystic world, and how to manipulate it." Thor glanced at Loki as he spoke, but his back was to them. "If anyone can draw out the influence of the stone - it is her."

_This is a bit of a conundrum. _Ciara thought, rubbing her face with both of her palms.

They needed to go to Asgard in order to free Loki from the influence of the sceptre. But going to Asgard would almost certainly mean capture, and even death, possibly not just for Loki.

"And there's nothing he can do to himself? To get rid of the symptoms?" Ciara asked.

"Loki is strong, and he has been fighting the influence without even knowing it. But he would not be able to complete the process to himself, no. The mind stone is too strong."

"Right." Ciara said. "What exactly are the effects that he's experiencing?"

"The mind stone - that which resides in the sceptre - is known for skewing one's thoughts, enhancing emotions, inhibiting judgment… The full list of effects is unknown." Thor replied, letting out a long sigh before he continued. "I fear in the light of recent events, he is even more susceptible. The rage he feels towards Odin, and felt at your capture, is magnified. Uncontrollable when it takes over."

"Do you think the sceptre was responsible for the attacks on New York?"

"No, not entirely at least. There must be some form of corruption already existing in the individual for the mind stone to amplify. In Loki's case… Vengeance. And a desire for power."

"Then we have to go to Asgard." Ciara said. She knew they were all thinking the same thing, and it was the only conclusion that she herself could come to. "Find your mother somehow, get Loki… _Cured_, and then get out. Without being seen."

"Yes." Thor nodded solemnly. "Something along those lines."

Ciara turned so her back leaned against the roof's concrete barrier, her arms crossed as she watched Loki traverse the rooftop, seemingly deep in thought.

"I am sorry Lady Ciara, that you had to learn all of this the way that you did." Thor said.

"You said the mind stone intensifies someone's true emotions, motives." She glanced at Thor sidelong. "Does that mean deep down-"

"Loki desires to hurt you?" Thor interrupted. "No, nothing of the sort." He paused before he continued, pursing his lips and staring at the ground. "I believe what happened was his desire to be revered, even feared, coming to face. And you do not fear him nor hold him on a pedestal."

_But do I fear him? _Ciara thought.

"Thanks Thor, for this." She said.

Thor dipped his head. "Of course, Lady Ciara."

Ciara pushed off the barrier and made her way over to where Loki was, gingerly laying a hand on his arm.

"Hey." She said.

Loki turned to her, but didn't say anything.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yes, love." There was a distinct delay before he answered, and he offered a half-smile with his words. "I assume Thor told you everything you needed to know?"

"Yeah, I think so. Magic rocks, cosmic exorcism - all that."

A small smirk tugged on Loki's lips at her words, and Ciara gave thanks that he wasn't immune to some dark humour yet.

"How is your chest?" Loki asked, and his expression was serious again.

"I'm fine." Ciara said, brushing his hand away from her sternum. "Supersoldier, remember?"

Loki sighed deeply through his nose and his eyes scanned over her face. He did this for a couple of moments before he turned away, looking out at the buildings that surrounded them.

"You should not have to deal with any of this." Loki said, and she could almost feel the frustration emanating from him.

"I can handle it." Ciara urged.

"I know you can." Loki said, his gaze snapping back to her. "But for how long? Where is your true breaking point, Ciara? I for one do not wish to find out."

"This is just another mission." She replied. "This is what I do, Loki."

"Fix problems?" He asked, and his tone was cold.

"Help people." She shook her head. "You're not a problem."

"I am not exactly people either, love."

Ciara bit her lip and couldn't muster up the right words to answer. She had seen Loki make so much progress - physically and mentally - since his arrival to the SHIELD medical bay weeks ago. And this setback seemed to have undone all of that growth. Loki wasn't just being self deprecating, it was clear to her that everything was beginning to compound on him. And that his mindset was unsound, a minefield, and it couldn't just be the stone that was making it so.

"We're going to come out of this on the other side, and it's going to be fine." Ciara said. "And no one else is going to be told about this. No one."

Loki raised his eyebrows. "You will not be involving your team on this?"

"I'm not sure what idea you've been getting, but I'm not an Avenger. I'm a test subject. _And_ I'm with you on this." Ciara said. She gave him some time to respond, and when he said nothing, she continued. "I know you, Loki. I know you have a plan."

"I may." Loki answered. "But there is no way this will be possible without our absences being noticed."

Ciara shrugged. "I didn't think there was."

"You would risk it all?"

"I will." Ciara said, nodding. "I mean everything I said. This isn't some kind of agenda. I love you."

Loki stiffened and she could see him contemplating her words.

He had never experienced the kind of affection and care that Ciara expressed for him; the way Thor showed it was different, the way his friends had was too, as well as the way his mother had. Ciara was different. Previously a complete stranger - a potential enemy even - prepared to put everything on the line for him time and time again. It was a sentiment that Loki had trouble with, but that he somehow oddly understood; if it came down to it, he would do the same for her.

/

"What do you mean I will not be accompanying you?" Thor asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We can't risk Odin having it out for you too… And two is harder to detect than three." Ciara said, pacing the length of the table while Thor and Loki occupied seats opposite from each other. They had commandeered one of the conference rooms to discuss the plan after Loki gave Ciara a prior brief. The purpose of the meeting was really to let Thor know he wouldn't be a part of the mission that time around.

"And you can't get in SHIELD's bad graces either." Ciara continued. The car that was meant to take her and Loki to the new safehouse would be arriving within the next hour.

Ciara and Loki would not be reaching their newly appointed destination though.

Loki was one of very, very few people who knew of alternate passages into and out of Asgard. He was one of an even smaller select group of individuals who knew how to utilize these passages, and remain unseen. Escaping SHIELD, however, was completely up to Ciara.

"Brother, you will not make it out of Asgard alive without my aid." Thor insisted. "You must bring me with you."

"Thank-you Thor, for the vote of confidence." Loki said, glancing towards Ciara. "But this is something Ciara and I must do alone."

"And what would you have me tell the good people of SHIELD of your disappearance?" Thor said, clearly irritated.

"You won't have to tell them anything." Ciara replied. "When they ask, you'll say you know absolutely nothing about this."

"Why tell me anything at all then, if I will not be involved?" Thor asked.

"Because otherwise you would likely panic, and come after us." Loki replied, brows raised. Thor had nothing to say in return because the words were, of course, true.

_Car leaves in 20, you guys all packed? _Ciara's phone lit up with a text from Natasha, and her chest tightened.

_Yup. You coming with? _She sent back.

_Someone has to make sure you don't get kidnapped on the way. _Natasha replied, and Ciara put her phone back in her pocket.

"Who was that?" Loki asked, noticing Ciara's expression. She felt as if all of her blood was pooling in her feet and cementing her to the ground.

"Natasha." She said. "She's going to be in the car with us on the way to the safehouse."

"Is that a problem?" Thor asked.

Ciara shook her head, but felt otherwise. "No. It's fine."

_If it comes down to it, I can take her. _She thought.

The only way that her and Loki would be able to leave without incriminating anyone else is if it appeared that they went rogue. And so the plan was to take out whatever escort team had been mustered up to take them to the safehouse, hijack the car, and get to the location Loki had decided they would be leaving to Asgard from.

But if Natasha was in the car with them, that meant she would be one of the people they would have to get around in order to escape. Natasha's presence was either a very good thing, or a very bad thing. It all came down to how much trust she had in Ciara.

"We're straight here. We should go get our stuff." Ciara said to Loki, who understood her agitation and stood up to join her in leaving.

"Lady Ciara." Thor said. Ciara stopped in her tracks and turned to face the thunder god as he approached her. He didn't stop, but instead enveloped her in a massive hug. It lasted a couple seconds before he pulled away. "Be safe."

"You too." Ciara said.

Thor turned to Loki. "Take care, brother."

Loki didn't have a sarcastic quip to reply with. He dipped his head in response, and him and Ciara continued out into the hallway. She scanned her tag and hit the button for the living quarters floor. The two of them stood so close that their arms were in contact, and Ciara watched the floor numbers fly by.

The doors opened, and Loki followed Ciara to her room in silence to retrieve her bag. She had a duffel stuffed full of clothes from the dresser, her SHIELD credentials, and her laptop. Any weapons she needed were already on her person.

Loki picked the bag up from the bed and slung it over his shoulder.

_5 minutes. Meet in the garage. _Natasha's text lit up her phone.

_On our way. _Ciara sent back, then stuffed the phone back in her pocket.

She took a deep breath and looked up at Loki. "Ready?"

"Always." Loki said back, prompting a small smile from Ciara. "After you, love."

/

When they reached the garage, Natasha stood waiting by a black escalade along with one other agent.

"Discreet." Ciara said as they approached.

"Precious cargo." Natasha smirked and shrugged, entering the vehicle on the front passenger side. The other agent sat in the driver's seat, and Loki and Ciara took up residence in the back. Ciara purposefully sat behind Natasha.

They started winding through the concrete underground, out the garage doors and up the ramp that came out of the back of the building and met with the street.

"Shouldn't be too long of a drive. Maybe twenty minutes." Natasha said, then glanced at the duffel bag Loki had placed on the seat between him and Ciara. "Minimalist life, huh?"

"Can't seem to stay anywhere long enough to accumulate stuff." Ciara answered, and Natasha nodded.

"I know the feeling." The redheaded agent said.

They made their way through the traffic in silence. The radio played some station and some song that Ciara couldn't recognize, but was tuning out anyways. She checked her watch at the ten minute mark and could already feel herself tensing in preparation. Loki seemed to sense this, and he placed a tentative hand over hers on the duffel bag. They shared a look.

_Is it time? _His voice intruded on her thoughts, and Ciara gave a slight dip of her head in response.

Ciara waited until the driver made a turn down an alley. They had been sticking to less populated side streets anyways, but it was best that no one was around for what was about to ensue.

She pulled her firearm from the holster on her hip and aimed it towards the driver, so it would be visible in Natasha's peripheral vision, but far enough out of her reach that she couldn't move to disarm Ciara.

"Stop the car." Ciara said calmly.

The vehicle lurched to a stop in the alley, and the driver took his hands off the wheel. Natasha turned her head so Ciara could see her profile.

"I need you to think about what you're doing right now, Ciara." Natasha said, mimicking Ciara's composed demeanor.

"I have, Nat. You need to let us go." Ciara said, cocking the gun. "Both of your guns, please."

The agent in the driver seat looked at Natasha, as if for permission. Natasha shook her head.

"Ciara, put the gun away. Let's talk." Natasha said.

Ciara knew they had to move quickly. There would be a check-in window that had to be met for their arrival at the safe house, and SHIELD would soon realize that they were late to meet that window.

_Time for the backup plan. _She thought.

Ciara reared back and brought the gun down on the back of the driver's head. He slumped forwards at the contact, out cold, and Ciara repositioned herself so the gun was aimed at Natasha.

"Loki, get him out of the car." Ciara said, her focus not leaving Natasha while she spoke.

Loki did as instructed, opening his door and then the driver's, pulling the unconscious man and leaning him up against the brick of one of the buildings next to them.

"Nat." Ciara said, her voice as steady as she urged it to be. "Get out."

Natasha watched her quietly before she too obeyed, and Ciara stepped out to join her, keeping the gun aimed directly at the female agent. They stood in the alley around the car, and Ciara lowered the gun.

"What's your plan here, Ciara?" Natasha asked.

"You know I can't tell you." Ciara replied, placing her gun back in its holster. "We're going to leave now. What you do next is up to you." She said.

Ciara didn't wait for a response. She walked around the car to the drivers side and got in the seat, while Loki got in the passenger side, and she took off down the alley.

"The car probably has a tracker on it." Ciara said, as she took a turn and joined the traffic on the street. "What am I looking for here?"

"I will tell you when I see it." Loki replied, looking sidelong at Ciara. "Are you alright?"

Ciara nodded, holding the steering wheel with a vice-like grip and glaring straight ahead.

"Perfectly, you?" She said.

"Maybe slightly amused." Loki replied, and when Ciara looked at him he sported a little grin.

"That give you a little satisfaction to watch?" Ciara asked.

Loki turned his attention forwards again. "_A little _is not the measurement I would use." He pointed to a small enclosed park up ahead, the trees that lined it's perimeter partially obscuring the greenery within the fence. "There."

"The park?"

"Yes."

Ciara pulled up to the curb and took the keys out of the ignition. She left the duffel bag in the back seat and met Loki on his side of the vehicle.

"Why here?" Ciara asked.

"Privacy." Loki replied, as if that would clear things up.

She followed him nonetheless, past the gates that rose up around the park. A sign on a lightpost jutting up from the barrier read '_Convent Garden_'.

The park was teeming with flowers and shrubbery, all alive with colour, but completely devoid of people.

Loki peered around as though he was searching for something. With narrowed eyes, he approached a spot beneath the shade of a triangle of trees.

"Here." He said, tipping his head back and looking upwards at the sky.

Ciara scanned the area: the cars on the streets, the unaware passerbys. They had some cover from view thanks to the greenery, but by no means were they hidden.

"Give me your hand." Loki said. Ciara obliged, and he gripped hers tightly before shutting his eyes.

Ciara didn't speak - nor did she get the chance to - before her vision was suddenly filled with light and colour, and the almost familiar sensation of wind all around her lifted her off her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut, and once again did not open them until she could feel solid ground again.

/

The environment around them was dense forest. The trees appeared untouched, and they did not abide by any trails while they walked because there were no paths to be seen.

"I didn't know Asgard's forests would be so… Earth-like." Ciara said, unsure of what else there was to bring up.

Loki trudged ahead in front of her. He moved slowly - this was noticeable because she was so accustomed to the lithe, agile way he usually did - and she tried to put the concern she felt for him out of her mind. Whatever magic he had just conjured had obviously done a number on him.

"Loki." She said, and he turned to regard her. "Maybe we should stop for a second. I might need you if this turns bad."

"Only for a moment." Loki said, but when he took a seat on a fallen tree she could almost see the relief in his expression. Ciara sat next to him.

"So you can travel between worlds, just like that?" She asked.

Loki shook his head. They were both still clothed in their earthly attire, his hair still short and tousled, but beads of sweat dotted his forehead. "Dark magic is forbidden for use on most worlds. And it requires centuries of practice."

"Centuries." Ciara repeated. "Frigga taught you?"

"Yes." Loki said, and then abruptly stood. "We should keep moving. The city is not far."


	19. Completely

**The final chapter.**

**Wow, what a ride. This took a lot of music to figure out and then write. I sincerely hope you guys like it, and if you've enjoyed the story don't forget to leave a review! **

**More to come. But for now, our conclusion!**

The golden city sprawled out over the landscape. Everything was visible from the vantage point on the ridge, even the citadel that extended higher in the sky than the mountainous terrain behind them.

Loki had taken the liberty of changing their attire. Ciara's dress and robes were a mix of grey and navy, with the hood pulled up to conceal most of her face from view. Loki's were almost entirely dark grey, with a similar hood and silver-plated armour to complete the look. She wasn't sure how foolproof the disguises were, but it was the best, least conspicuous thing that could be done given the circumstances and Loki's current state of magical depletion.

Ciara was pleased that he had, at least, worked a blade into a holster on each of her calves while conjuring her disguise.

"You said Frigga will probably be in the gardens at this time, right?" Ciara asked. Darkness had just begun to blanket over the world, so at least there was that to work in their favour.

"Certainly, yes." Loki corrected.

Ciara was first to start navigating the way down the slope. Loki followed closely until he overtook her, and together they made their way towards the city.

The agitation Ciara felt was surprisingly not overbearing. She felt weirdly at peace. Perhaps it was that the seriousness of the consequences a mission failure would carry with it had been pushed so far back in her thoughts, that they didn't seem real. It may have even been the confidence with which Loki took every step. But she couldn't tell if that was confidence in his decisions, or just the familiarity of Asgard - his home - making it easy for him to keep moving. Nonetheless Ciara felt collected and clear-headed, and she didn't question why she felt this way. Even if it was just adrenaline, she would take all the help she could get.

Loki felt a little bit different. He was both apprehensive and eager. As they finally reached the city limits and began walking through the streets, each passerby felt like an enemy to him. Ciara's closeness was comforting, but also upsetting; if she was there with him, she was not safe.

In short; Loki was having a lot of conflicting thoughts. It was only by sheer will that he was able to push the negative ones aside and keep focused on the task at hand.

And the task at hand meant that his mind would be freed of the ailment that made him feel as though he was not in full control. If there was anything that he hated, despised, it was the feeling of lack of control - especially of his own mind, his greatest weapon.

They walked by a group of guards and Ciara withheld the instinctive reaction to put her head down even more. Instead they pressed on ahead, slowly closing the distance between them and the citadel.

"The gardens are beautiful at night." Loki said. "A shame you have to see them under such poor circumstances."

Ciara was a little bit puzzled at his words. She couldn't tell if he was trying to make idle conversation, or trying to lighten the mood, or what his play was. But it was probably best to go along with it.

"At least the company is good." She said, and lifted her head slightly to flash him a smile. "No black and gold tonight?"

Loki snorted and turned back forwards. "I would not get used to it if I were you." He said, then continued. "We are almost there."

They were coming up to the front arches of the citadel. People walked in and out, all their clothing resembling that which Loki and Ciara wore. There was a stark contrast between how the commoners were clothed and them, Ciara noticed. A lack of regality in the former.

No one gave them a second look for this reason - that they fit in so well. Ciara had her hair pulled back and only a couple of wisps hung down from the hood, shielding her profile from view.

As they walked down a corridor separated by pillars, Ciara caught sight of a group moving in the opposite direction on the other side of the columns.

Sif walked at the forefront, followed by the warrior whom which hadn't spoken to Ciara, and then Fandral and Volstagg. Loki noticed them at the same time as Ciara, and he was quick to face forwards again.

"They cannot help us." Loki said, and Ciara too returned to looking straight ahead. "Down here." He said.

They began down a set of stairs, and Ciara could see that at the bottom, the floor was made of grass. As they made contact with it, her view was completely overtaken by what she had to guess were unmistakably the gardens.

A fountain stood in the very centre, a statue of a woman, cloaked in robes that looked so real that one could reach out and feel the silk. Vines ran up the walls of the courtyard to a completely open ceiling, and the light that came through it along with the torches on the wall illuminated all the greenery that Ciara couldn't begin to name if she tried. It was a surreal sight, and she realized what Loki had meant when he said it was a shame that she couldn't see it under less nerve-wracking conditions.

Loki's pace had slowed immensely while they walked. The stone path that led through the greenery wound in erratic patterns, and benches made of more grey stone seemed to grow out of the ground every once in a while.

"Stop." Loki said, extending his arm to the side and halting Ciara in her tracks.

Up ahead she could see what the reason for the pause was.

Frigga stood in all of her glory, taking slow steps on the same path as them. She paid them no mind, instead her gaze was locked on the flowers that she brushed her fingertips against. Two other women flanked her, wearing hoods and light silver dresses, but Ciara could see the glint of light reflecting off of blades secured to their hips.

"Let me handle this." Loki said, and then began making his way towards where Frigga stood. This seemed to attract the attention of the women at the Queen's back, as one leaned forward and whispered something in Frigga's ear.

The Queen's head rose and her eyes locked on Loki as he approached. Her expression didn't seem shocked but instead, it softened, and she raised a hand to dismiss the two women behind her. They obeyed and retreated back on the path towards one of the staircases that led back inside.

Loki and Frigga talked too quietly for Ciara to hear. He gestured back towards her and she met eyes with Frigga, whose lit up as she quickly turned back to her conversation with Loki. Ciara took that as her cue, and went to join them.

"My Lady." Ciara said, giving a small and definitely improper bow as she reached them.

"No need for that, dear." Frigga said. "I would say it is good to see you again, but seeing as I do not yet know the purpose of your visit…"

"Perhaps somewhere less… Public." Loki said.

Frigga nodded. "Of course." She did a quick scan of the area. "Follow me."

They did exactly that, Ciara and Loki walking side-by-side as Frigga led them out of the garden and through the palace walkways. With every turn Ciara imagined stumbling upon Odin and his guard, and their mission coming to an abrupt end. But it didn't happen, and everyone who passed them seemed more involved with greeting the queen as they walked by than the two of them trailing behind her.

"In here." Frigga gestured to a room not unlike the quarters Ciara had been appointed during her short stay on Asgard just days ago. They filed into the massive living space and Frigga was last to enter, shutting the double doors behind her. Little to Ciara's surprise, the room looked identical to hers.

"Alright." Frigga walked past them and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Tell me, why are you here? You must know if your father were to find-"

"Mother." Loki interrupted, pulling back his hood. "As I'm sure you are aware, we do not have time for this."

"Of course." Frigga said, completely calm. "So, what is so pertinent that you must endanger yourself and your lovely companion once again?"

"The mind stone." Loki said, and Ciara saw Frigga withhold a flinch. "It's effects…"

"Remain within you." Frigga completed his thought. "I thought I sensed a difference." She stood from the bed and her features were completely serious - grim, even. "How long?"

Ciara could see the muscles of Loki's jaw clench. "Since my initial departure, from Asgard."

"Oh, son." Frigga stepped towards him and lifted her hands towards Loki's face, but he caught her forearms in his grip before they could reach his cheeks. When he let go, she dropped her hands. "This must be done immediately." She said.

"We would not be here if I did not think the same." Loki said.

Frigga glanced at Ciara, then back to Loki. "Lay down on the bed." The queen flicked her hand towards the door, and Ciara heard an audible click as locks fell into place.

Loki approached the bed and Ciara stayed in place, unsure of what her spot was in whatever was about to happen. Frigga seemed to pick up on this.

"Dear, I am going to need your help." Frigga said.

Ciara was confused. "What can I do?"

Loki stopped in his tracks next to the bed, appearing to be wondering the same question.

"You can hold him down for me." Frigga replied.

/

Loki lay on the bed, reverted back to wearing a black undershirt and pants, the same colour as his hair. His feet were secured to the bedposts by material pulled from the drawers, and Frigga and Ciara stood on either side of him.

"Ciara, behind him please. Take his hands." Frigga said. Her brows were furrowed and she donned a look of concentration as she took a seat on the bed next to Loki. Ciara stood behind Loki and he offered her his hands. She gripped him by the wrists, and he hers.

"Ciara." Frigga said, and Ciara looked up at her with wide eyes. "Do not let him go."

Ciara nodded in response and her grip on Loki tightened.

"This will be quick, and you must remain as relaxed as you can. Nod if you understand, son." Frigga said. Loki's eyes were closed, but he did as asked.

"Then we are ready." Frigga said.

/

Loki's eyes shot open, the colour of them so blue and unnatural that the very visual was deeply unnerving. Ciara felt his hands release her wrists and his skin grow hot as he attempted to tug them out of her grasp. Frigga's eyes were shut, and she had one hand laid on Loki's chest. A golden glow escaped between the contact point of her skin and Loki's shirt.

"Ciara, look at me." Loki said. Frigga was unphased and remained silent, her eyes not opening. "Look at me." Loki growled.

"We could do it." Loki continued, his voice low. "You and I. Set this world afire and watch it burn from the throne." His eyes searched for Ciara's but she was focused on Frigga. "Just you and I, Ciara. We were _made _for this. They were made for _nothing_, to _be_ nothing."

Ciara breathed deeply and stared directly forwards, over Loki.

"Come now love, you know I mean it. Would I ever lie to you?"

At this, she couldn't help it. She looked down at Loki, and the sapphire eyes that stared back at her were wide, inviting. He tugged sharply at his hands and she tightened quickly, feeling them slip slightly. Loki chuckled and shook his head.

"If you are not with me love, you are against me."

"Do not listen to him Ciara." Frigga said. "These are not his true thoughts. Not much longer."

What Thor had said about the mind stone, how it magnified one's own deepest desires and feelings rang out in her mind.

Suddenly Loki's eyes squeezed shut and his head shot back against the pillow, his chin lifting towards the ceiling.

And then his body slumped, and Ciara felt the resistance in her arms give way to nothing.

"Is it done?" Ciara asked, looking desperately at Frigga for an answer before she could let go.

"Yes." Frigga said quietly, removing her hand from Loki's chest. "Yes, let him go dear."

Ciara did as told, placing his hands back down on the mattress gently. Loki was unmoving except for the subtle rise and fall of his chest.

"What's happening?" Ciara asked. She walked around to Loki's other side but did not take a seat on the bed.

"Give him a moment." Frigga said.

Ciara waited and watched. Loki's eyelids twitched and his head turned to the side, towards her, before his eyes slowly opened. The cobalt colour was gone, instead replaced by the familiar gray-blue of the god of mischief.

"Loki?" Ciara asked.

The doors shot open, slamming against the walls as guards began pouring in. The waves didn't seem to stop until half of the auditorium-like room was filled with armoured men, the front layer with their spears pointed towards them. Frigga stood from the edge of the bed, and Loki threw his legs over the side of it, standing up so he stood between Ciara and the guards.

The men split in the middle to reveal another, adorned in golden armour and brandishing a golden staff. His white hair seemed greyer than Ciara remembered.

Ciara's heart pounded and she stepped out next to Loki, itching to retrieve the blades from her calves, but refraining. They might be able to take on this wave of guards, but there could be many more standing in wait in the corridor. Battle would have to be a last resort.

"So it is true." Odin said, regarding Loki and then Ciara. "Guards, take them. Leave my wife."

At Odin's command, Ciara caught sight of the daggers as they appeared in Loki's hands. She reached down and unsheathed her own blades. The guards halted in their approach.

"It does not have to come to this, Loki." Odin said, but even Ciara could tell that his words were not genuine.

"Oh, but it does." Loki replied, and his armour materialized on him as he dove forward. He slashed the spears of the guards aside and kicked the chest of one of them with the sole of his boot. The guard flew back into his comrades and knocked them over like bowling pins.

Ciara sprung into action next to him, slashing a spear aside and landing an elbow square in the face of the other. She spun on her heel and backed up against Loki so they stood back-to-back, the guards forming a circle around them and Odin nowhere to be seen.

"Not exactly how I saw this going down." Ciara said, fending off an attacker by dodging the spear as it was jabbed at her, then grabbing it by the shaft and yanking it from the guard's grip. She twirled the new weapon and used it to deflect another jab. Loki swept out the legs of a guard as he charged and let loose his knives at another.

"Stop this!" A blast of what looked to Ciara like pure light came from the crowd and disintegrated her spear in her hands. She tracked the voice down to Odin, who stepped out and slammed his staff on the ground, sparks flying up where it made contact. "You will stand down or you will be killed where you stand." Odin said, and Ciara's balled fists tightened.

_We're going to die._

The moment of hesitation was all it took for Ciara to get blindsided. She felt the contact as the tip of the spear hit her side, and the initial heat of it as it punctured her skin. Ciara stumbled and ripped the spear out from her flesh and the hands of her attacker, just before the same sensation was felt in the back of her right leg, and her knee buckled.

"_Fuck."_ Ciara cursed and balanced on her prosthetic, swiping in a half circle with the spear in her hand at the attacker to her back but not hitting anything.

To her side, Loki fended off the now converging line of attackers to little avail. She could tell he was trying to defend her simultaneously, but there were too many. A blow to the side of her head from a shield knocked her back down on all fours and white spots danced in her vision. Ciara pushed herself up and raised her fists, knocking the shield away before the guard could bring it down again. She felt hands wrap around her arms from the back, as cuffs clamped down on both of her wrists. Frantically twisting her head to see who was behind her, she watched as a spear punctured Loki's back and he was gripped in a similar fashion.

"Loki!" She shouted, as the butt end of a spear smashed across his face and sent blood from his lips. "_Let him go_!"

Ciara felt herself being dragged further from him, towards the open doorway.

"Stop!" Ciara struggled until the grips on her arms were released but her hands still restrained behind her back, struggling to support herself standing between the prosthetic and her injured leg.

"Lady Ciara." A familiar voice came from behind her and Ciara spun around. Fandral stood there, with the silent warrior to his side. "Please. There is nothing you can." He urged, holding his hands up as if to tell her to calm down.

There was a sharp blow to the back of her head, and Ciara's world went dark.

/

When Loki came to, he was blinded by the light of the cell.

He recognized where he was to be the most secure of holding cells in Asgard, stationed far below the citadel. The walls were made of impenetrable material, and from where he lay on the bed he could make out the inhabitants of other cells in rows and rows.

Loki sat up and his back and head ached.

"It must be difficult for you to see that I am still alive." Loki said, turning his head to look at the figure whose eyes he felt boring a hole into him. Odin stood alone, his armour and staff gone.

"You would not be alive if I did not allow it." Odin replied.

Loki stood and made his way towards the wall of the cell, stopping just before it and squaring up with the king on the other side.

"So why is it that you have allowed it, _Allfather_?" Loki spat the question, but his heart was not entirely in the words. In his mind he replayed the image of Ciara, the spears as they pierced her and then when she was dragged from his view, bloodied and limp.

"Because this is your punishment, my son." Odin said, calmly turning heel and walking down the length of the cell wall. "You will remain in this cell until the end of your days on this world. Until you move on to the next."

"Where is she?" Loki asked, putting all of the effort he possibly could into tuning out the words just said to him.

A punishment worse than death.

Odin had just condemned him to a punishment worse than death.

Loki stepped up to the cell wall when Odin did not answer, and slammed a fist up against it. "What have you done?" His voice was raised as he glared at the Allfather.

"You will not see her again. You will see nothing but what you do now." Odin said. The calmness of his voice did nothing but infuriate Loki further, bring him more hurt than he thought he could possibly feel.

"Goodbye, Loki." Odin said, walking back down the stone walkway and disappearing through a set of double doors.

Loki dropped his hand from the wall and stepped back, using a table placed in the cell to stable himself as he breathed raggedly.

_Ciara, I am so sorry. _He urged the words to go out for him. To extend from his mind to hers, so that she could just know.

Ciara, the woman for whom he had bared everything. And she him.

She loved him. And he her.

The way she felt in his arms, her skin against his, her hair like silver silk and her eyes telling stories more interesting than any book he could ever seek out. Gone.

Loki would have to live out his days with the absence of it all. The unknown and the unknowable.

Where was she and how was she?

How would she be?

How would they have been, if things had just been different?

She was not his everything, no. But she gave him hope. Not false hope, not futile ambition, but real promise of something better.

And with this punishment Odin had taken away Loki's hope. His power. His life.

Completely.

/

The beeping of monitors did not go away when she woke up. They had carried on throughout all of her dreams and then when she was awake, they were still there.

Ciara squinted at first, testing, before she opened her eyes completely and surveyed the room.

It was a room she knew very well. One of the many in the SHIELD medical wing. The bed to her right was unoccupied, but in the chairs against the wall to her left two people sat, sleeping.

_No, no no no no no no._

Ciara grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, taking deep breaths. If she was on earth then she was not on Asgard. If she was on Earth alone then Loki was not on Earth, so Loki was on Asgard still.

Loki was dead. That was the conclusion.

An alarm began from one of the machines and Ciara swung her leg over the side of the bed, supporting herself on it without paying any mind to the ache she felt running through it, and landing a fist straight through the screen of the heart rate monitor.

"Ciara!" One of the people in the chairs stood up - Clint - and pulled her back by her arm. Glass shards penetrated the skin in numerous spots, and blood began seeping out. "Fuck, Thor get a nurse."

Thor was standing from the chair and looking on in shock. He shook himself out of it and ran out into the hallway, shouting 'Nurse!'

"Ciara, sit." Clint pushed her back down onto the bed by her shoulders, so she sat on the edge of it. Blood dripped down her hand and began pooling on the floor.

Thor reentered with a nurse, who looked startled for a split second before she sprung into action. Clint stepped out of the way to allow her access to the fresh wounds.

Ciara stared at the wall straight ahead as the nurse began working on her arm, unmoving and neglecting to speak.

They had failed their mission.

/

"Well it looks like you've made a full recovery." The doctor scanned over the chart, nodding in disbelief. "You're clear to leave, Agent Volkov."

"Thank-you, Doctor." Ciara said.

She had been in the hospital for just barely two full days. The puncture wounds from the spears had been sizable but not requiring surgery, and the serum had done its job quickly in repairing the tissue.

"Right, hopefully we won't see you again for a while." The doctor said jokingly, then left.

Thor stood from where he was seated in a chair next to her bed.

"Hey." Ciara said, mustering up a small smile.

"You do not need to fake it for me, Lady Ciara." Thor said. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, and he wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants, his arms crossed as he stood by her bedside.

"I'm fine, Thor. Honestly." Ciara said, forcing the ball in her throat that threatened to choke her words out back down into her chest.

_No tears. _

"Alright." Thor said, sensing the fact that she was working very hard to hold it together. "Shall we?"

"About time, I think." Ciara said, taking Thor's arm as she stepped down off the bed. She applied some pressure on her injured leg experimentally, and found there was little to no pain. "Okay, I'm good."

Thor nodded and dropped his arm, accompanying her as she left the room.

"Where are you living now?" Ciara asked. They made their way down the hallway and into the elevator.

"An apartment, not far from here. Why do you ask?" Thor said.

"Do you think I could come by for a bit? Just don't really want to be… Here, right now." She said, inwardly cringing at how stupid she felt asking.

"Of course. I am parked just outside."

"You drive?" Ciara asked, and she couldn't stifle the laugh before it came out. Thor couldn't hold back a grin, and it was the first smile she remembered seeing from him since her return.

"Yes, Lady Ciara, I drive."

Ciara felt guilty for smiling, so she quickly wiped the expression off her face.

When the doors opened they walked across the lobby and through security.

"This one right here." Thor gestured to a car street-parked by the curb, unlocking it with a set of keys in his hands.

Ciara walked over to the passenger side and shut the door, while Thor slid into the driver seat next to her.

/

Thor's apartment was in a high rise building a short drive from the headquarters, just as he had said. They rode the elevator without speaking, walked down the hallway in the same silence, and Thor unlocked his door with a fob on his car keychain.

Ciara waited until they were both inside and the door was shut behind him.

She turned around to face him, and hot heat welled up in her eyes and began to spill over.

"My lady…" Thor held his hands out and Ciara shook her head and took a step back.

"He's dead." She said, speaking through gritted teeth. "He's gone, and I couldn't help him. I couldn't be there with him. I-I… Didn't even get to say goodbye to him."

Ciara raised her hands to her mouth as a sob escaped, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Thor stepped forward and she dropped her forehead to his chest while his arms wrapped around her.

Loki was gone, and there was nothing that she could do about.

Nearly everything in her life as of recently had revolved around saving him, and when it came down to it, there was nothing she could do.

And no one could know how she felt, because then she would truly lose everything else.

She would have to be okay. For her own sake.

_Loki, I'm so sorry._


End file.
